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Concordia Heading to Division III Tournament

Updated: Monday, February 27 2012, 10:52 PM CST

The Concordia University Texas women's basketball team will trek to Newberg, Oregon to face Lewis & Clark in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 2 at George Fox University's Wheeler Center.

The Tornados, who are making their first-ever appearance at the event, and Lewis & Clark will be joined by George Fox and California Lutheran at the host site for the first and second rounds.

Concordia (23-4), which had not qualified for any type of postseason play since 2005, claimed its first American Southwest Conference Tournament crown by winning three games in three days by an average margin of 14.3 points.

The Tornados have set a school record for overall wins and capped the weekend with a 73-64 victory over Louisiana College yesterday, ending the Wildcats' 40-game home court winning streak that dated back to 2009. Shamika Singleton was named the tournament's MVP after averaging a double-double and putting forth a 13-point, 17-rebound effort in the championship game. She leads the team in scoring (12.0 ppg) and rebounding (6.9 pg) while also averaging 2.2 steals and 0.8 blocks per contest. Lashanda Luckey, who joined Singleton on the all-tournament team, accounts for 10.6 points, 5.0 boards, 2.0 steals and 1.7 assists.

The Tornados are now 37-14 under the direction of second-year head coach Rusty Rainbolt.

 

Lewis & Clark (24-3) is the seventh-ranked team in the country by D3hoops.com and earned an at-large bid to the tournament after falling to undefeated and third-ranked George Fox in the Northwest Conference title game.

The Pioneers, who have lost all of their games to George Fox, are led by juniors Kristina Williams and Sara Villaneuva. Williams made the All-NWC First Team and leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.8 points per game, as well as steals (2.2 pg) while also grabbing 5.4 boards. Villaneuva, an All-NWC Second Team honoree, accounts for 11.6 points and 3.5 assists , while Megan Spence is also netting double figures (10.6 ppg).Concordia Heading to Division III Tournament