Whit women snubbed in D-III draw

Despite a school-best record of 22-3, a national ranking, and two preseason All-Americans on the roster, the Whitworth College women’s basketball team has not been selected to play in the NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament.

The Pirates were hoping for one of seven Pool C berths, those reserved for teams from automatic-qualifying conferences that did not win their conference championship. There are a total of 50 teams in the tourney, including 39 automatic qualifiers and four independent qualifiers.

Whitworth had hoped that the success of the Northwest Conference in recent NCAA tournaments would bode well for their hopes.

Whitworth seniors Tiffany Speer, Sarah Shogren, Dani Bielec and Wenchi Liu concluded their careers. The foursome put together a record of 78-25 over their four seasons of play. Speer is the two-time NWC Player of the Year and was a D3hoops.com preseason First Team All-American. Shogren was a D3hoops.com preseason Third Team All-American.