by The NCAA announced the 64-team field in the Women’s Basketball Tournament that will decide a national champion on the ESPN Selection Show this evening as well as the sites of the first two rounds of the tournament.
In the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, the top 16-seeded teams play host in the first and second rounds and the teams that advance to the final 16 will play at regional sites that will be held in Oklahoma City, Okla., Greensboro, N.C., Albany, N.Y. and Spokane, Wash. this year. The Final Four for the women’s will be held in Tampa Bay, Fla., where a champion will be decided.
Yesterday, we featured the Native American men athletes who will be competing in the NCAA’s March Madness tournament that will be starting this week. Today, we reveal the women that will be competing below. Once the actual times and TV listings are released, we will update the profiles with the game information:
College Women
Jude Schimmel, (Umatilla), is a 5-6 guard for the Louisville Cardinals who earned a #3 seed in the Albany region of the tournament. Since the Cardinal men are hosting the NCAA at the KFC! Yum Center, the Louisville women were not able to host the first two rounds on their home court and will have to travel to Tampa, Fla. to open up their tournament play. Jude will finish her final NCAA tournament of her college career, after having an amazing run the past two seasons. Jude and her sister Shoni, catapulted onto the forefront of women’s college basketball with their improbable run a few years ago by reaching the National Championship game where they fell to eventual champion UCONN. This year, Jude has been a solid performer for Louisville averaging 7.1 points per game and nearly 4 assist per game as well. She leads the team in steals (68) but more importantly she is on the court nearly 30 minutes a game to help steer and control the offensive tempo. Jude will literally write the final chapter in an amazing story that began with a documentary called “Off the Rez” which chronicled her and Shoni’s career to college. At her senior game, Jude announced to our ndnsports contributing writer Patti Tanewasha the name of her book. (Update: Louisville will play BYU on Saturday at 4:00 PM Eastern time on ESPN 2)
Abby Scott, (Warm Springs Tribe), is a 6-1 junior guard for New Mexico State Aggies who earned the #16 seed in the Spokane region. The Aggies are making their first tournament appearance in over 25 years after winning their first ever Western Athletic Conference (WAC) tournament championship (they also won the regular season title as well). Abby averaged 7. 8 points per game this season for the Aggies and played 23 minutes per game. Last season, Abby led the NCAA in three-pointers made in a single game (11) and this season broke into the top 10 in three-point shots made at New Mexico State as chronicled by contributing ndnsports writer Charlie Perry. (Update: New Mexico State will play Maryland on Saturday at 1:30 PM Eastern Time on ESPN 2)
Bradley Nash, (Navajo Nation), is a 6-0 junior forward who plays for the New Mexico State Aggies as well. However, Bradley is probably the only NCAA Division 1 player to play both volleyball and basketball. Last season, Nash was asked to tryout in the spring semester and she earned a spot. Bradley is no stranger to dual-sport stardom since she was a standout in high school in both sports. After the conclusion of the volleyball season this year, Nash again returned to the roster in the spring semester where she contributes off the bench whenever she is needed. In an interview with Nash about her dual-sport activity by contributing ndnsports writer Colton Butler, Mark Trakh, head coach of the New Mexico State Aggies, mentioned how “Bradley is one of our hardest working athletes and is an energizer. Bradley lights up the room with her big smile and infuses the room with oxygen. She’s such a giving person and everyone on the team absolutely loves her and she’s a great influence for everybody from the kids to the elders in the community of Las Cruces, New Mexico.”
Tesha Buck, (Prairie Island Indian Community), is a 5-11 sophomore guard for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix who were named a #9 seed in the Spokane region. The Phoenix earned their bid to the NCAA tournament by winning the Horizon League Tournament, where Tesha was named the Tournament MVP. On the season, Tesha was the second leading scorer at 11.5 points per game and she is second on the team in total assist at (101) on the season. Last season, Tesha was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Year and this season she avoided the dreaded “sophomore slump” by earning second-team All-Horizon league. (Update: Green Bay will play Princeton on Saturday at 11:00 AM Eastern Time on ESPN2)
Shanae Gilham, (Blackfeet Tribe) is a 5-10 redshirt sophomore guard for the Montana Grizzlies who were named the #16 seed in the Oklahoma City region. The Griz earned their tournament bid by winning the regular season and Big Sky conference tournament. It is their 21st NCAA tournament appearance. Shanae, primarily a three point specialist for the, was second on the team this year with 30 three-point shots made. She averaged 5.0 points per game this season and averaged 13 minutes per game as well. (Update: Montana will play Notre Dame on Friday at 7:30 PM Eastern Time on ESPN2)
Lakota Beatty, (Caddo/Lakota/Gros Ventre), is a 5-8 sophomore guard for the Oklahoma State Cowgirls. who earned a #10 seed in the Greensboro region. The Cowgirls recieved an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament after finishing the season (20-11) in a very tough Big 12 Conference. Lakota came off the bench this season for the Cowgirls and averaged 11 minutes per game in the point guard position. She averaged 2.8 points per game this season and dished out 23 assists and had 10 steals on the season. Lakota had a career-high 14 points versus Kansas State after getting her first career start for the Cowgirls. The 3-point bomber hit was intially a game winning shot versus Kansas State but after review it was determined to be after the buzzer. In an interview with contributing ndnsports writer Tyler Jones, Lakota talked about her season to that point. (Update: Oklahoma State will play Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday at 11:00 AM Eastern Time on ESPN 2)
Best of luck to all of these athletes and their respective teams as they begin their quest for the national championship. The first round of the NCAA tournament will begin on March 20th & 21st. Tune into NCAA.COM for the most up-to-date information on the tournament.
Congratulations girls…… I am proud to see that there are native women succeeding in all aspects of life. An you are creating a great and showing fantastic remodeling for our young Native youth that their dreams can come true and you make that possible.keep it up native pride.
More power to the athletes. You will help native kids navigate their journey through life with no fear, confidence and may one day be positive examples for other kids. Obstacles and challenges are a part of life and often they seem endless. These obstacles and challenges were part of your life and you have conquered most of them. You have already taught/shown Native kids how to overcome challenges and obstacles.You let it be known you have overcome obstacles and challenges to be where you are at. Good luck to all.
We are proud of you Bradley Nash. Nizhoni!