TIFFIN, Ohio - After scoring what may be the biggest win in the program's NCAA Division II era on Saturday against #17 Kentucky Wesleyan, Tiffin women's basketball will now travel to take on the same Panthers in Owensboro, Ky. in the GMAC Quarterfinals on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. eastern.
The win secured Tiffin's first postseason appearance since making the GLIAC Tournament in 2012 and even vaulted the Dragons over Lake Erie and into the seventh seed to earn the matchup against two-seed KWC.
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Dragon Details
In addition to the momentum from the historic upset on Saturday, Tiffin is without a doubt one of the hottest programs in the GMAC heading in the playoffs with six wins in their last eight games. During those eight games, Tiffin is outscoring opponents by an average of 74.1 points to 70.8 points, and outrebounding opponents by an average of four boards per game as well.
As a team, the Dragons rank eighth in the conference with 70.0 points per game on the year and seventh in scoring defense at 71.8 allowed per contest. TU's three-point defense is very strong, ranking second in the conference with opponents shooting just 29.0% from deep. Rebounding is also a strong suit for Tiffin as they are second in the GMAC with 41.0 rebounds per game and first with 13.0 offensive rebounds per game. TU is also sixth with a +0.83 assist-turnover ratio and third with 2.93 blocks per game.
Individually, Aarion Nichols continues to be one of the best all-around players in the GMAC as just a sophomore, ranking in the top-12 in the conference in scoring (11th, 14.5 ppg), rebounding (T-5th, 7.6 rpg), assists (T-6th, 3.3 apg), assist-turnover ratio (T-6th, +1.2), and steals (T-11th, 1.6 spg). Nichols has recorded seven double-doubles on the year, all coming in conference play, including a 13 point, 15 rebound effort on Saturday.
Savanah Richards has really found her groove during the second half of her freshman campaign, improving from 5.3 points per game during the nonconference schedule to 11.4 points per game in conference play, leading all GMAC freshmen in scoring during the conference regular season. Richards' improvement also seems to have directly correlated with Tiffin's success as of late, as during the last eight games she is averaging 20.3 points per game, 4.4 rebounds per game, 2.0 assists per game, and 2.1 steals per game while shooting 47.3% from the field and 44.4% from deep.
Brooke Wesner is third on the team with 8.6 points per game, including a career-best 29-point effort at Trevecca Nazarene earlier this season. Jada Tate averages 7.7 points per game while also tying for 13th in the conference with 6.3 per game, while Jasmine Watts scores 7.5 points per game and is tied for the conference lead with 1.4 blocks per game.
Matchup History
Tuesday's quarterfinal will be the fifth meeting between the Dragons and the Panthers, first to come during postseason play, with all four previous contests occurring in the last two seasons after Tiffin joined the GMAC.
KWC holds a 3-1 advantage in the series, with TU's only victory being the monumental upset on Saturday.
In the two meetings on the road in at the Owensboro Sportscenter, the Panthers won both by double digits, including a 75-53 defeat of the Dragons earlier this season on Dec. 7.
Scouting the Panthers
Despite the loss to Tiffin on Saturday Kentucky Wesleyan remains one of the hottest teams in all of Division II, as the 17th-ranked Panthers have now lost just two games all season with the other coming back on Jan. 2 at now-No. 11 Walsh, 75-65. Since then, KWC had won 13 in a row before Saturday, and now boast an overall record of 26-2 and 16-2 in GMAC play.
Kentucky Wesleyan enters the postseason second in the conference in scoring at 81.5 points per game and leading the GMAC by a wide margin with just 55.0 points allowed per contest, good enough for a very impressive +26.5 scoring margin that is third in all of Division II. The Panthers are also second in the GMAC with a +6.96 turnover margin, first with 19.21 assists per game (fourth in DII), and first with 10.93 steals per game. They also rank eighth nationally with a 47.6% field goal rate and sixth with 10.1 three-pointers made per game.
KWC is extremely balanced offensively without a scorer in the conference top-10 but with eight players averaging between 6.6 and 14.1 points per game. Keelie Lamb is the leader at 14.1 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per contest. Kaylee Clifford is second in the GMAC among qualifiers in three-point percentage at 37.8%, while Lily Grimes is third in the GMAC with 4.5 assists per game and fourth with a +1.8 assist-turnover ratio.
GMAC Championships Schedule
G-MAC Quarterfinals
Tuesday, March 3
Game 1 - No. 7 Tiffin at No. 2 Kentucky Wesleyan – 12:00 p.m. CT/1:00 p.m. ET
Game 2 - No. 6 Ohio Dominican at No. 3 Findlay – 5:30 p.m. ET
Game 3 – No. 5 Malone at No. 4 Cedarville – 5:30 p.m. ET
Game 4 – No. 8 Lake Erie at No. 1 Walsh – 5:30 p.m. ET
G-MAC Semifinals (at Highest Remaining Seed)
Thursday, March 6
Game 5 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Game 6 – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4
G-MAC Championship
Saturday, March 7
Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6