Whitworth men, women headed to NCAAs

The No. 8 Whitworth Pirates will host a men’s first-round NCAA Division III tournament game, playing the University of Redlands Saturday in the Fieldhouse. Game time is 7 p.m.. The Whitworth women will make their second appearance in the NCAA Division III basketball tournament in Atlanta, Ga., where the Pirates will face Emory (22-3) Friday, March 1. The Whitworth men (24-3) play host to the Bulldogs (22-5), winners of the SCIAC’s automatic bid into the tournament, in a rematch of a Dec. 19 game in Redlands, Calif. Whitworth won that game, 70-57. The winner of Saturday’s game would face the winner of Emory, 19-6, vs. Randolph, 21-6, March 9. Whitworth gained the Northwest Conference’s automatic NCAA berth by defeating Whitman, 93-72, in the conference tournament championship game Saturday in the Fieldhouse – the seventh straight tournament championship for the Pirates. The Whitworth women (21-6) are one of three Northwest Conference teams in the tournament after defeating Lewis & Clark Saturday in Portland, 76-61, to earn an automatic berth. The Pioneers, 24-3, will host a first- and second-round games at the Pamplin Center. Whitman, upset by Whitworth in the NWC semifinals, plays Cal Lutheran, 23-4, Friday, also in Portland.