March 16, 2015

Patriot League Women's Basketball Postseason Preview 

NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket  

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - Patriot League champion American received the 14th seed in the Oklahoma City Region of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament and will open against Iowa (24-7) in a first-round game on Friday in Iowa City.

The contest is scheduled to tip at 2:30 p.m. and will be shown on ESPN2.

The Eagles earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament by winning the Patriot League Tournament, beating Lehigh 66-50 in the League Championship at home on Saturday. American enters the postseason with a record of 24-8, and went 14-2 in the Patriot League.

American makes its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance after setting a program-record with 24 wins this season. The Eagles join the 64-team field having won 11 straight games under second year head coach Megan Gebbia. American received an at-large bid to the WNIT in 2014, losing 63-60 at Seton Hall in the first round.

American will look to earn the second win for a Patriot League team in the NCAA Tournament in its 23rd appearance. Holy Cross, as an 11th seed, upset sixth-seeded Maryland 81-74 in a first round game in 1991.

It is the fourth time the Patriot League representative plays an NCAA Tournament game against an opponent from the Big Ten. Fordham and Holy Cross each lost to Penn State in 1994 and 2003, respectively. The Crusaders also lost to Big Ten member Ohio State in 2005.

The two teams have never met, Iowa has played teams currently in the Patriot League on three occasions with the Hawkeyes winning all three. Boston University faced Iowa twice, most recently during the 2008-09 season, and Bucknell took on the Hawkeyes during the 2002-03 campaign

The Hawkeyes were runnerup to Maryland in the Big Ten regular season with a 14-4 record and entered the conference tournament as the No. 2 seed. Iowa lost to third-seeded Ohio State in the semifinal round and received an at-large bid to the field of 64. Seven Big Ten teams, including automatic qualifier Maryland, received bids to the 2015 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.

View the entire NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket

2015 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament

First Round ~ Friday, March 20 ~ Carver-Hawkeye Arena / Iowa City, Iowa

No. 14 American Eagles (24-8, 16-2 PL) at No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes (24-7, 14-4 Big10), 1:30 p.m. CT
History: Teams have never met

American, the 2015 Patriot League regular season and postseason champion, earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament and was announced as a 14 seed in the Oklahome City Region in the 64-team field. The Eagles opponent will be Iowa, the regular season runnerup in the Big 10 who advanced to the conference semifinals. The Hawkeyes were introduced as a No. 3 seed and will host American in the first round at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday afternoon. The winner of the AU-Iowa game will face the winner of No. 6 Washington v. No. 11 Miami on Saturday in Iowa City.

American The Eagles started the season with a difficult non-League schedule that included games against 2015 NCAA qualifiers George Washington, James Madison and Princeton as well as a win over Gonzaga that prepared them well for the Patriot League regular season. Losses to Army and Holy Cross, the second and third seeds in the League tournament, were the only blemishes since late December.

Any conversation about American starts with senior guard Jen Dumiak, the 2015 Patriot League Player of the Year. The Carlsbad, Calif., native is second in the League in scoring at 16.7 ppg and also averages 6.2 assists and 5.6 rebounds. Unfortunately for opponents, the conversation doesn't end with Dumiak, as forwards Holmes and Zimmerman, a pair of All-Patriot League third team choices, provide a nice complement. Senior guard Shaquilla Curtis was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year.

Probable starters: Sr. G Jen Dumiak (16.6 ppg, 6.2 apg), Jr. F Michelle Holmes (11.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg), Sr. F Arron Zimmerman (9.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg), Sr. G Shaquilla Curtis (7.5 ppg), Fr. G Emily Kinneston (3.0 ppg).

Key reserves: So. F Lauren Crisler, Jr. G Ari Booth, So. G Jordan Light.

Iowa The Hawkeyes were selected for the NCAA Tournament field after posting a 24-7 record and a 14-4 mark in the demanding Big 10. All seven of Iowa's losses this season came away from Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the site of Friday's NCAA first round contest. All but one of the setbacks came against a team appearing in the 2015 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament and the Hawkeyes own wins over NCAA qualifiers Gonzaga, Minnesota, Nebraska and Rutgers.

Iowa is led by senior guard Samantha Logic, who is one of five finalists for the 2015 Nancy Lieberman Award which is given annually awarded to the top point guard in women's Division I basketball. Logic is also one of 15 candidates for the John R. Wooden Award which is college basketball's most prestigious honor. The Racine, Wis. native is third in the nation at 8.0 assists per game and also averages 13.5 points per game. Overall, the Hawkeyes attack is very balanced with all five starters averaging between 8.8 and 15.1 points per contest. Iowa is also one of the most accurate shooting teams in the nation, connecting on 45.5 percent of their shots (10th).

Probable starters: So. G Ally Disterhoft (15.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg), Sr. G Melissa Dixon (15.0 ppg, 88% FT), Sr. C Bethany Doolittle (13.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg), Sr. G Samantha Logic (13.5 ppg, 8.0 apg, 6.8 rpg), Fr. G Whitney Jennings (8.8 ppg, 1.9 spg).

Key reserves: Jr. F Kali Peschel, Fr. F Chase Coley, So. G Alexa Kastanek, Fr. F Christina Buttenham, Jr. F Claire Till.