Rio Grande Sports Information
RIO GRANDE, Ohio - The University of Rio Grande will square off with Siena Heights (Mich.) University in the opening round of the NAIA Women's Basketball Championship presented by Ballogy on Tuesday, March 7, at 6 p.m., at the Newt Oliver Arena. The 64-team field and tournament bracket was released by the NAIA national office on Thursday night. The RedStorm is the No. 4 seed in the Duer Quadrant and will be hosting a four-team pod for the first time in school history. Siena Heights is the No. 13 seed in the Quadrant.
Fifth-seeded University of Pikeville (Ky.) and No. 12 seed Grace (Ind.) College complete the quartet of schools beginning their tourney run at Rio. Rio Grande will face Siena Heights in Tuesday's opener, with the Pikeville-Grace matchup to follow 30 minutes after the first game at approximately 8 p.m. Tuesday's winners will meet for the pod championship on Wednesday, March 8, at 7 p.m., with that winner advancing to the Round of 16 beginning March 13 at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.
Rio Grande, which was tied with Eastern Oregon at No. 12 in the final regular season NAIA coaches' poll, earned its trip to the national tournament as the River States Conference regular season champion. Head coach David Smalley's squad also won the RSC Tournament championship by defeating Midway University, 93-72, on Tuesday night, improving to 28-3 for the season with a 10th straight victory. The RedStorm is led by two-time RSC Player of the Year, senior guard Ella Skeens. The Chillicothe, Ohio native averages a team-high 24.1 points - a figure which ranks third nationally - and 8.0 rebounds per contest, while shooting 53 percent from the field overall and 43.5 percent from three-point range. Skeens is joined by fellow first team All-RSC honoree, sophomore guard Kaylee Darnell (Wheelersburg, OH), who averages 16.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game. The RedStorm's starting lineup also includes a second team All-RSC honoree in sophomore guard Azyiah Williams (Ripley, OH), who averages 7.5 ppg and ranks sixth nationally at 6.2 assists per game. Rio Grande leads the nation in scoring (96.6 ppg), rebounds (51.1 rpg) and assists (23.1 apg).
The remaining three teams in the Rio Grande pod all made the tournament as at-large selections. Siena Heights sports a 24-6 mark for the season after dropping a 93-83 double-overtime decision to Rochester (Mich.) University in the semifinal round of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament - a game that began last Saturday and ended the following day after play was halted due to a power outage. Head coach Sue Syljebeck, who is in her 19th season on the Saints' bench, leads a squad which is led by 5-foot-7 senior guard Sha'kyia Parker, who averages a team-high 17.8 points per game and 5-11 senior forward Peyton Banks, who scores at a 17.4 ppg clip and averages a team-best 7.7 rebounds per game. Both players were named to the All-WHAC First Team. Junior guard Kayla Hinton (5-7) - a second team All-WHAC pick - completes SHU's trio of double-digit scorers, averaging 12.0 points and a team-leading 3.5 assists per contest.
Pikeville brings a 21-8 season mark after dropping an 80-69 decision to Georgetown College in the quarterfinal round of the Mid-South Conference Tournament. The Bears have five players who average double figures in scoring, with 5-8 graduate senior guard Mary Englert leading the way at 14.1 points per game. The remainder of the quintet includes 5-6 freshman guard Allie Stone (13.8 ppg), 5-8 junior guard/forward Morgan Stamper (10.9 ppg), 5-9 senior forward Bailey Frazier (10.8 ppg) and 5-9 graduate senior guard Sierra Feltner (10.4 ppg). Stamper also leads seventh-year head coach Clifton Williams' club in rebounding at 10.3 per outing, while Feltner tops the team at 3.9 assists per game. Englert and Stamper were First Team All-MSC honorees, while Feltner and Stone were Second Team picks.
Grace is making the first national tournament appearance in the 47-year history of its program. The Lady Lancers have enjoyed their winningest season ever and are currently sitting at 21-9 after suffering a 68-49 loss to Marian (Ind.) University in the semifinals of the Crossroads League Tournament. Fifth-year head coach Dan Davis' team is led by 6-2 junior center Karlee Feldman, who averages 16.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. She was named to the All-Crossroads League First Team, the Crossroads League All-Defensive Team and was also named the league's Defensive Player of the Year. Junior guard Maddie Ryman (5-6) averages 15.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest, while 5-11 junior guard Kiersten Findley checks in at an 11.7 ppg clip. Ryman was also a First Team All-Crossroads pick, while Findley was a Second Team all-conference selection.
Live video will be available on a pay-per-view basis at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/rio. Cost is $9.99 per game or $15.99 for a tournament pass. Live statistics will also be available at https://naiastats.prestosports.com/sports/wbkb/scoreboard.
