FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Johnson & Wales University Women's Basketball team is headed to Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham for the first round of the NCAA Division III Championship. The Wildcats, 19-9 on the year, received the automatic bid after capturing the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship with a 74-66 win over Emmanuel in the finals. FDU-Florham, 26-1 this season and the defending NCAA Division III National Champion, received the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament after a 76-66 win over Eastern in the finals of the Freedom Conference.
"This is a very exciting time for our women's basketball program and the University" said head coach Corey Boilard. "The support from the community has been great and we're looking forward to enjoying the NCAA experience."
Johnson & Wales, appearing in the NCAA Championship for the first time in school history, have won their last nine games. The Wildcats set a school record for wins in a season as their victory over Emmanuel in the GNAC finals was their 19th of the year.
The Wildcats are led by freshman Raquel Pederzani with 13.5 points, 3.6 assists and 2.9 rebounds per contest. Pederzani earned All-Tournament accolades for the Wildcats. Sophomore Bobbie Whitehead, the GNAC Tournament Most Valuable Player is averaging a double-double for the Wildcats this season with 12.1 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Whitehead has a team-best 12 double-doubles on the year. Freshman Ashley Thompson, also a GNAC All-Tournament selection,is averaging 11.1 points and 7.0 rebounds this season while her 1.0 blocks per game rank her eighth among the conference leaders.
FDU Florham is led by Shalette Brown with 13.2 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. Alyssa McDonough is adding 12.4 points, 3.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds while Kyra Dayon is averaging 12.2 points and 6.4 boards per game for the Devils. FDU-Florham is averaging 84.4 points per game while holding opponents to just 59.44 points per contest.
The winner of the contest advances to the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship where they'll face the winner of the University of New England vs. Catholic, hosted by FDU-Florham.