JAMESTOWN — The University of Jamestown women’s basketball team is headed back to the NAIA Tournament for the first time since the 2017-18 season and they will be taking on Indiana University-South Bend at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 7, in Helena, Montana.
“I think a lot of our challenge will just be playing our style of basketball,” Jimmies head coach Thad Sankey said. “A national tournament matchup of being our best and we don’t know a ton about IU-South Bend and we’re going to be learning quite a bit in the next couple days, just about style of play and individuals and things like that. I think maybe as we look to tomorrow and Saturday, we’ll have a lot better idea about the opponent but we know they’re going to be competitive and we know they’re good. We’re just looking forward to being there and playing well.”
The Jimmies come in as the No. 7-seed in the 2023 NAIA Tournament and will be taking on the No. 10-seeded Titans. The Jimmies and Titans have never played each other before. The Titans are the only teams the Jimmies have played this season for the first time ever this season. The Jimmies' first-round game is 11 and a half hours and 754 miles away, which is the Jimmies' furthest road trip of the season.
“I think it’s super exciting not only for the program but also for all of our players,” Jimmies guard Sarah Lenz said. “It shows all the hard work that we’ve put in. It does pay off and it doesn’t go unnoticed.
This is the Jimmies' first neutral site game since the 2017-18 season, where they went 4-2. Since 1983-94, the Jimmies have made 11 appearances in the national tournament, and are 7-4 in the first round. The Jimmies are currently riding a two-game winning streak in the first round. Over the last two first-round games, the Jimmies have outscored their opponents 152-114.
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The Jimmies head into this game with a 21-8 overall record and they are on a two-game winning streak. The Titans enter the game with a 28-2 overall record and they are on an eight-game winning streak. Neither team has played a common opponent this season.
The Jimmies are coming off a 73-67 loss to Concordia University in the GPAC Quarterfinals on Feb. 21. The Titans enter the game off the back of an 87-65 win over Indiana University Northwest on Feb. 27.
This season the Jimmies' leading scorer is Hannah DeMars who is averaging 17.7 points per game. The Titans' leading scorer is Katie Gard who is averaging 14.1 points per game. In the lead-up to the game, the Jimmies will be working on themselves before they concentrate on the Titans.
“The last five days in practice we’ve been working on ourselves, we have some things to get better at and improve and resharpen. Our team has done a great job at doing that. Tomorrow and Saturday before we get on the road it’s our chance to look at opponent and get into our routine of a two-day scout process which is pretty normal during the regular season. We’ll get into rhythm and get into routine for that."
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