by The NCAA announced the 64-team field in the Women’s NCAA March Madness Basketball Tournament on the ESPN Selection Show yesterday evening as well as the sites of the first two rounds of the tournament.
First- and second-round games will be played at 16 home sites Friday, March 17 through Monday, March 20, with the 16 second-round winners moving on to the four regional sites. The Lexington Regional (Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky) and the Oklahoma City Regional (Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) will be played on Friday, March 24 and Sunday, March 26, while the Bridgeport Regional (Webster Bank Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut) and the Stockton Regional (Stockton Arena, Stockton, California) will be held Saturday, March 25 and Monday, March 27. The four regional winners will advance to the 2017 NCAA Women’s Final Four, March 31 and April 2 in Dallas (American Airlines Center).
Yesterday, we featured the Native American men athletes who will be competing in the 2017 NCAA’s March Madness tournament that will be starting this week. Today, we reveal the women that will be competing below as well as players in other women’s post season tournaments.
NCAA Women’s March Madness
Caitlyn Ramirez (Seminole Nation of Oklahoma), is a 6-2 senior forward for the Troy Trojans who earned their way to the to the women’s March Madness tournament by winning the Sun Belt Conference championship. The Trojans earned the No. 15 seed in the Oklahoma City Region. Ramirez was named to the Sun-Belt Tournament MVP . She is originally a transfer from Tyler Junior College out of Tyler, Texas where she was a NJCAA Region XIV All-Conference and All-Region selection. Troy (22-10) and Mississippi State (29-4) will face off in Starkville, Miss., on Friday (game time will be released later) in Humphrey Coliseum.
Chelsea Dungee (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma), is a 5-11 freshman guard for the University of Oklahoma Sooners who were selected Monday as the No. 6 seed in the tournament’s Oklahoma City Regional and will take on No. 11 seed on Gonzaga in Seattle, Wash., Saturday at 5:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2. Dungee started in 16 games this season for the Sooners and averaged 7.1 points per game.
Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT)
Lauren Billie (Mvskoke Creek/Seminole) is a 5-6 sophomore guard for the University of Texas-Arlington Mavericks who earned a bid to the WNIT Tournament. UTA’s .733 winning percentage is currently the best in program history, besting the 2006-07 squad that won 24 games. A win in the WNIT first round would clinch UTA its best-ever percentage and tie for second amongst the most wins for the program. Lauren started in 8 games this season and averaged 3.1 points per game in 13.1 minutes per game.
Dominque Golightly (Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma) is a freshman 5-11 guard/forward for Abilene Christian University Wildcats who are going back to the WNIT for the second consecutive season, which is incredible when considering they’re still in the midst of their NCAA DI transition. ACU will be eligible for the women’s NCAA tournament next season. Dominque averaged 4.9 points per game for the Wildcats this season, including a career-high 14 points against UTSA.
Brice Calip (Mvskoke Creek Nation) is a 5-8 freshman guard for the Missouri State Bears who finished third in the Missouri Valley Conference, and qualified automatically as the highest finishing league school not selected to the NCAA Tournament. Brice averaged 5.3 points per game for the Bears and collected 9 steals on the season.
Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI)
Jaye Two Bears (Standing Rock Sioux) is a 5-10 freshman guard for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers who will play in the WBI – a 16-team tournament played on campus sites – for the first time. This comes just one year after a berth to the Women’s NIT, marking the first time the Panthers will play in the postseason in back-to-back years in program history. Jaye averaged 8 minutes per game this season in her freshman campaign and averaged around 2 points per game as well. She had 9 steals on the season as well. Th Panthers will host Southern Illinois Wednesday at 7 pm from the Klotsche Center in the opening round of the Women’s Basketball Invitational.
Tisha Phillips (Nez Perce Tribe) is a 5-9 senior guard/forward for the Eastern Washington University Eagles who accepted a bid to play in the 8th Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI) on Monday (March 13) evening. Eastern will open the 16-team tournament on the road at Texas State on March 16. Tip-off from San Marcos, Texas is set for 3 p.m. PT. Tisha averaged 14.1 points 3.6 assists and played 29 minutes per game this season. She started 28 games this season and is an integral part of the Eagles offense.
