W-Basketball Region Championship: #1 seed Rock Valley (23-7) plays #2 seed Madison (26-3) on Sunday
Upcoming DateFeb 28 vs. Madison College, 1:00 PM at Alverno College in Milwaukee, WI
Probable Starters
Rock Valley College (23-7, 10-2 N4C)PG-
Katreelah Steward, 5'4, So., Chicago, IL; 2.8 ppg, 3.0 apg
SG-
Brianna Davis, 5'8, So., Rockford, IL; 16.4 ppg, 3.5 apg
G-
Jaycee Cleaver, 5'8, Fr., Davis, IL; 9.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg
F-
Asia Jones, 5'9, So., Chicago, IL; 6.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg
C-
Tierra McGowan, 6'3, Fr., Chicago, IL; 10.3 ppg, 10 rpg
6th-
Creighton Fed, 5'9, Fr, Carpentersville, IL; 7.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg
Madison College (26-3, 9-3 N4C)PG- Taylor Nelson, 5'7, So, Cottage Grove, WI; 12.6 ppg, 5.1 apg
SG- Jenna Endres, 5'7, So, Black Earth, WI; 16.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg
F- Rachel Slaney -, 5'11, Fr, Barneveld, WI; 14.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg
F- Megan Petty, 6'0, So, Rio, WI; 4.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg
F- Mandi Sargent, 6'1, So, New Glarus, WI; 4.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg
6th- Kaitlyn Kast, 5'2, So, Hillpoint, WI; 5.7 ppg, 3.0 rpg
Madison College NotesMadison College is an NJCAA DIII member of the North Central
Community College Conference (N4C) located in Madison, WI… Head coach of the WolfPack is Jessica Pelzel.... In the first meeting between the two nationally ranked rivals #5 RVC would come out on top by a score of 66-55 giving #1 Madison College their only loss of the early season. The second time around the Golden Eagles were edged out by the top team in the nation at the time 73-67 in Madison. Those first two games don't mean anything now. Both Madison and Rock Valley are coming off tough semi-final game wins and are looking forward to the final showdown between conference rivals to settle the score and potentially name one of the two teams the Division 3 Region 4 Champions.
Rock Valley College NotesRock Valley is an NJCAA Division III member of the North Central Community College Conference (N4C) The Golden Eagles are heading into the Region 4 tournament with 23-7record and a #1 seed as well... RVC women's basketball is in a "Golden Age" of their program having won 6 consecutive conference championships, the last 4 region 4 tournament championships, and 3 of the last 4 NJCAA D3 national championships (2012, 2013, 2015) and earning national runner-up in 2014.
N4C Conference StandingsRock Valley College: 23-7 (10-2)
Madison College: 26-3 (9-3)
MATC-Milwaukee: 16-14 (7-5)
Triton College: 21-9 (8-4)
Joliet Junior College: 16-13 (6-6)
College of DuPage: 9-18 (2-10)
Harper College: 4-24 (0-12)
Individual and Team Stats*Note: The NJCAA DIII level is represented by over 100 plus women's basketball teams across the United States.
-The Golden Eagles are led by
Brianna Davis who is averaging (16.2 PPG, 3.3 RBG, and 3.2 APG). Brianna was recently voted to the All Region 4 1st team and to the N4C All Conference 1stteam. Brianna was also voted to the 2015 All-National Tournament team.
-
Tierra McGowan is second in scoring on the team (9.8 PPG) and leads RVC in rebounding at (10.5) and is ranked 13th in the country at 304 total rebounds. Tierra was recently voted on to the N4C All Conference 2nd team.
Misty Opat is in her 7th year as the Head Women's Basketball Coach at Rock Valley College. Opat has established her program as one of the best in the history of the NJCAA. Her program has won three NJCAA DIII National Championships (2012, 2013, 2015) in the past four seasons and finished in National Runner-Up in 2014. Entering this season, Opat has compiled an overall record of 151-47 (.763). She was named Spalding NJCAA DIII National Coach of the Year in 2015, has been named the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year four times, the Region IV Coach of the Year four times, the District 2 Coach of the Year four times, and the Coach of the NJCAA DIII National Tournament three times. Prior to RVC, Opat accumulated seven years of NCAA Division I coaching experience. From 1999-2002 she served as an assistant coach at the University of Illinois at Chicago where she also served as the Recruiting Coordinator. In 2000 her UIC recruiting class was ranked 19th in the country for NCAA Division I. Opat also held assistant coaching positions at Fresno State University (1998-99) and the University of Kansas (1995-1998) where in both cases she was also heavily involved in recruiting and scouting. Opat earned an Associate of Science degree from Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kansas, where she was a two-year team captain in basketball and was named to the all-conference and all-region teams in both seasons. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, where she earned NAIA All-American honors as a player. Opat then went on to obtain a Master of Science in Sports Administration from Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas.
