#25/25 Women's Basketball Earns 26th NCAA Tournament Bid

NE10 Champion Skyhawks seeded No. 2 in East Region and will face ECC Champions No. 7 Daemen Friday afternoon

NCAA Division II Tournament Announcement

NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament Interactive Bracket

EASTON, Mass. (March 8, 2019) – The Northeast-10 Conference Champion Stonehill College women's basketball program has earned its 26th bid to the NCAA Division II Championships, receiving the No. 2 seed for the East Regional, which will be hosted by Adelphi University this weekend.

Stonehill (23-5, 16-3 NE10) earns the Northeast-10's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after capturing its sixth NE10 Tournament Championship earlier today with an 80-61 triumph over Saint Anselm College, adding the title to its Northeast Division Championship won during the regular season. The Skyhawks are in the NCAA Tournament for the third-straight year and 26th time in program history overall, marking the 13th NCAA bid in 19 seasons under the leadership of head coach Trisha Brown, the five-time NE10 Coach of the Year.

Stonehill's 26 NCAA Tournament bids are the fourth-highest total in Division II history, behind only rival Bentley University (35), Delta State University (28) and Cal Poly Pomona (27). The Skyhawks enter the NCAA Tournament winners of a season-high 12-straight, marking the longest active win streak in the region, and 16 of 17 since the New Year, while playing the No. 1-ranked schedule in Division II this season with their opponents recording a combined winning percentage of .620. Stonehill has played six of the other seven teams that will compete at this weekend's regional, posting a 7-2 record in those games, including a 4-1 mark against the upper half of the regional bracket.

Stonehill, which won its third East Regional Championship just two seasons ago, will open this year's NCAA Tournament against No. 7 Daemen College (23-5, 13-3 ECC), who received an automatic bid as the East Coast Conference Champions, on Friday at 2:30 p.m. Jefferson University and Daemen join Stonehill in receiving the region's three automatic bids, while Adelphi University, Saint Anselm College, University of the Sciences, Molloy College and Le Moyne College all earned at-large bids to the overall field of 64.

The remainder of the East Regional first round games on Friday will feature No. 6 Le Moyne (19-9, 14-5 NE10) facing fellow NE10 member Saint Anselm (21-7, 15-4 NE10) at noon. After the Stonehill/Daemen game, top-seeded Adelphi (27-3, 17-2 NE10) the NE10 Southwest Division Champions will host No. 8 Jefferson (20-11, 13-6 CACC), the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Champions at 5:30 p.m., with ECC member Molloy (22-9, 12-4 ECC) taking on No. 4  USciences (26-4, 18-1 CACC) in the nightcap at 7:30 p.m.

Following Friday's first round matchups, the regional semifinals will be played on Saturday evening, with the regional championship slated for Monday night, March 16. The winner of the East Regional will advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight at the Birmingham CrossPlex, in Birmingham, Alabama, March 24-27. 

COMPETING TEAMS IN 2020 NCAA DIVISION II EAST REGIONAL
No. 1 seed – Adelphi University (27-3, 17-2 NE10)… NE10 Southwest Division Champions (at-large bid)
No. 2 seed – Stonehill College (23-5, 16-3 NE10) … NE10 Tournament & Northeast Division Champions (automatic bid)
No. 3 seed – Saint Anselm College (21-7, 15-4 NE10) .. NE10 (at large bid)
No. 4 seed – University of the Sciences (26-4, 18-1 CACC) … CACC South Division Champions (at large bid)
No. 5 seed – Molloy College (22-9, 12-4 ECC) … ECC (at-large bid)
No. 6 seed – Le Moyne College (19-9, 14-5 NE10) .. NE10 (at large bid)
No. 7 seed – Daemen College (23-5, 13-3 NE10) … ECC Tournament & Regular Season Co-Champions (automatic bid)
No. 8 seed – Jefferson University (20-11, 13-6 CACC) … CACC Tournament Champions (automatic bid)

NCAA DIVISION II EAST REGIONAL SCHEDULE
QUARTERFINALS – FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2020
#6 Le Moyne (19-9, 14-5 NE10) vs. #3 Saint Anselm (21-7, 15-4 NE10), Noon
#7 Daemen (23-5, 13-3 ECC) vs. #2 Stonehill (23-5, 16-3 NE10), 2:30 p.m.
#8 Jefferson (20-11, 13-6 CACC) at #1 Adelphi (27-3, 17-2 NE10), 5 p.m.
#5 Molloy (22-9, 12-4 ECC) vs. #4 USciences (26-4, 18-1 CACC), 7:30 p.m.

SEMIFINALS – SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2020
#3-#6 winner vs. #2-#7 winner 5:00 pm
#1-#8 winner vs. #4-#5 winner, 7:30 pm

CHAMPIONSHIP – MONDAY, MARCH 16, 2020, 7 p.m.

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