FRIDAY, MARCH 1 - NCAA 1st Round
Haverford (21-6) vs. Rosemont (24-3), 5 pm
Live Video | Live Stats
FRIDAY, MARCH 1 - NCAA 1st Round
Tufts (25-2) vs. Western New England (20-8), 7 pm
Live Video| Live Stats
SATURDAY, MARCH 2 - NCAA 2nd Round
First Round Winners, 5 pm
Live Video | Live Stats
HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's basketball team opens play in the NCAA tournament for the third time in program history and the second time in as many seasons on Friday afternoon. The Fords will travel to Medford, Mass. and the campus of Tufts University, facing off with local foe Rosemont College in first-round action on Friday afternoon at 5 p.m.
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
Haverford supporters can find all the pertinent information about the regional, including game times, ticketing information, video streaming and live stat links all weekend long via the Tufts tournament central page.
A RETURN TICKET TO THE DANCE
Haverford (21-6) has now reached 20 wins for the third time in program history (2017-18, 2013-14), with all three of those 20-win squads reaching the NCAA tournament. The Fords captured their second Centennial Conference titles in program history with an emphatic 62-40 win on Saturday at top-seeded Gettysburg on Saturday afternoon.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Haverford is appearing in the NCAA tournament for the third time in the history of the program. Last season, Haverford traveled to Ashland, Va. and the campus of Randolph-Macon, falling to No. 18 Christopher Newport in a first-round matchup. In 2013-14, Haverford traveled to Ithaca College for the first and second round contests, besting Rhode Island College in the first round before falling to the host Bombers in the second round pairing.
THREE NAMED ALL-CENTENNIAL
Haverford senior guard Macy Goldbach was named a First-team All-Centennial Conference selection, while junior guard Anna-Sophia Capizzi and junior forward Megan Furch both picked up honorable mention recognition, the conference office announced on Wednesday afternoon. Goldbach is the sixth player in Haverford program history to be named to the first team, and the third in as many years as Sierra Berkel '18 was named to the conference's top squad in each of the previous two seasons.
DEFENSE WINS (CONFERENCE) CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Fords enter the contest with the fourth-stingiest defense in all of Division III. Haverford allows just 47.9 points per contest a mark only bested by Merchant Marine, Maine Maritime, and Wisconsin Lutheran. The mark puts Haverford ahead of NCAA First Round hosts such as Amherst and Scranton. Tufts is eighth in the category (48.5 ppg).
CENTENNIAL SHOWS ITS STRENGTH ON THE NATIONAL STAGE
Haverford was one of three Centennial Conference squads to reach the NCAA tournament. In addition to Haverford's automatic qualification, Johns Hopkins and Gettysburg both received an at-large berth to the tournament. The conference saw three teams reach the national tournament for the third time in its history, and first time since 2007 when Ursinus, Dickinson, and McDaniel all earned bids.
COOK-ING SOMETHING SPECIAL
A consummate leader of the Haverford squad, senior guard Katie Cook is Haverford's leader in career games started with 102, and is second in career assists with 392. Cook is currently 23rd in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.21. Her 115 total assists this season, and 4.3 assists per games are also both within the Top 75 in all of Division III.
GOLDBACH REACHES 1,000 POINTS
Senior Macy Goldbach became just the ninth player in program history to reach 1,000 career points with her layup that came with 2:07 remaining in regulation against Swarthmore on February 13. Goldbach had a game-best 23 points in Haverford's 84-39 victory.
FORDS IN THE POLLS
Haverford is receiving votes in both the latest D3Hoops.com and Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Poll. Haverford was also slotted fifth in the final Mid-Atlantic regional rankings. A potential second-round opponent, Tufts, is ranked fourth in the D3hoops.com poll as well as the WBCA poll.
ABOUT ROSEMONT
Rosemont (24-3) enters the contest as the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Champions after a convincing victory over Keystone College on Saturday night. The tournament bid is the first in program history for the Ravens, who went unblemished in conference play and are riding a 19-game win streak. CSAC Player of the Year Ashley Murray is a force in the paint for Rosemont, as she averages a double double effort. Point guard Ayanna Thompson (7.7 ppg) was named the MVP of the CSAC tournament, while Ke'alohilani Naone-Carter (11.5 ppg) and Jayme Byers (10.6 ppg) can also figure to be offensive threats that Haverford must contain on Friday.
HAVERFORD HISTORY WITH ROSEMONT
The meeting will be the first for the two squads since the 2003-04 campaign. In total, the Fords have matched up with the Ravens on seven occasions, with Haverford winning four of those meetings. The showdown will be a rematch of the first game in Haverford women's basketball history, as the two Main Line neighbors met in Haverford's inaugural contest on January 26, 1981 at Rosemont.
ABOUT TUFTS
Tufts enters the contest as one of the most formidable teams in the nation, capturing the NESCAC title for the third time in program history. Tufts defeated previously undefeated Bowdoin to capture the title. Tufts has played in four of the last five NCAA Final Fours and has appeared in the NCAA Championship Game in both the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Tufts is 32-10 all-time in the NCAA tournament. With a style of player that is similar to Haverford's, Tufts holds opponents to just 48.5 points per game. Senior guard Jac Knapp (13.6 ppg) and junior guard/forward Erica DeCandido (12.6 ppg) figure to lead the attack for the Jumbos.
HAVERFORD HISTORY WITH TUFTS
A potential second round meeting would be the first between the two programs.
ABOUT WESTERN NEW ENGLAND
Western New England (20-8) secured its first ever appearance in the NCAA tournament with a 69-55 victory over Endicott in the Commonwealth Coast Conference championship game on Saturday. Junior Guard Emily Farrell leads the team with 13.9 points per game. Junior combo guard Meghan Orbann also pours in 12.7 points per contest for the Golden Bears.
HAVERFORD HISTORY WITH WESTERN NEW ENGLAND
A potential second round meeting would be the first between the two programs.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Tufts will be providing live video broadcasts via Jumbocast, a student-run broadcasting production. Live video links as well as live stats for the entire weekend will also be available via the tournament central page and the links on HavefordAthletics.com
