LAKELAND, Fla.—The Fire are hoping the third time is a charm in Sioux City.
Southeastern makes its third appearance in the NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship Thursday at 9:30 a.m. Eastern against Valley City State University.
Not only are the Fire looking for their first win in the national tournament, they're looking to carry the torch for The Sun Conference and pick up the league's first win in the tournament.
Valley City State comes into the matchup as the 8
th of 11 at-large bids in the field. They finished the year with a 24-8 record, while going 13-3 in the North Star Athletic Association.
The Vikings are a defensively-minded team, ranking in the top 15 in the NAIA in steals (356), rebounding defense (32.938), turnover margin (6.031), and scoring defense per game (58.125). This type of defensive play helped them make their first tournament appearance since 2013.
Southeastern heads to Sioux City as the only undefeated team in Division II at 26-0. The Fire, who earned an automatic bid by capturing The Sun Conference Tournament Championship, are a two seed in the national tournament. Southeastern leads the country in field goal percentage (49.2%), while ranking 3
rd in scoring margin (29.077) and scoring 83.192 points per game, good enough for 5
th overall. Their high-powered offense, fueled by experienced seniors, should prove to be valuable against the Vikings.
The Fire's road to the final four could be paved with particularly challenging competition. In their quarter of the bracket they have both the defending champion Marian (No. 1 seed) and the defending runner-up Southern Oregon (No. 3 seed). A few other notable teams are the 4 seed, Purdue Northwest, whose only conference losses came to No. 1 seeds, the 6 seed, Northwestern, who is a 3-time national champion, and the 8 seed, Olivet Nazarene, who averages 111.774 points per game.
The NAIA Network will be live-streaming the tournament games through their Stretch Internet website. This allows users to access live video, as well as statistics. Single day passes can be purchased for $9.95, while an all-tournament package is available at $29.95.
There will be a watch party in Portico when the Fire take on the Vikings Thursday morning.
