It’s March so it’s the time of the year when the Conference Tournaments kick in with silverware and a place in the NCAA Tournament at stake. Katelin Noyer and Fresno State are the first to put their season on the line.
Here is a simple guide to who is playing when in NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Conference Championships.
NB All games are US time therefore a day behind NZ – ie games scheduled for March 2 in the States are played Tuesday March 3 in NZ
March 2nd
Katelin Noyer (Fresno State University)
The Mountain West regular season conference winners play a quarter-final tie between New Mexico and Neva
Kayla Manuirirangi (Tulane University)
Tulane play their final American Athletic Conference game against Temple. They began conference play brightly but now have a 7-8 record after losing 6 straight.
March 3rd No Kiwis playing.
March 4th
Kendell Heremaia and Zara Jillings (Fordham University)
Fordham finished Atlantic 10 regular season play with an 11-5 record securing third spot on the ladder. They will face St Joseph’s in the first round of the conference play-offs.
Sariah Penese (University of Maryland Baltimore)
The Retrievers finished with a 6-10 record in the America East Conference and will be facing UMass Lowell in a sudden death quarter-final.
Tegan Graham (Colgate University)
Final Patriot League regular season game for Colgate versus Lehigh. Currently boasting a 11-6 record.
March 5th
Pareunora Pene (University of Tennessee Chattanooga)
Chattanooga cclinched a share of the Southern Conference regular season title with a narrow 69-65 win against ETSU. Chattanooga will meet Mercer in the Tournament Championships Quarter-Finals.
Charlotte Whittaker (University of Colorado)
Colorado (5-13) will face USC in the first round of the Pac 12 play-offs with the freshman forward having established herself as a key player for the Buffs.
March 6th
Tara Manumaleuga (University of Arizona in Tucson)
No Kiwi woman is playing for a higher ranked team than Manumaleuga with Arizona currently at #13. They will face the winner of the Cal v Arizona State tie in the quarter-finals of the highly regarded Pac 12 Conference.
Akiene-Tera Reed (Virginia Commonwealth University)
Hoping to go one better than last season when they finished runners-up at the Atlantic 10 Championship VCU will face the winner of the first round game between Davidson and La Salle.
March 7th
Shalae Salmon, Khaedin Taito 7 Kaylee Smiler (Brigham Young University)
Finished 3rd in West Coast Conference regular season with 13-5 record and head straight to the WCC quarter-finals where they will meet a conference second round winner.
Amiee Book (California State University Fullerton)
Fullerton have a Big West Conference regular season ending fixture at home against UC Irvine.
Tsubasa Nisbett (Georgia Southern University)
Last Sun Belt Conference regular season game against Georgia State. Currently 6-11 likely needing a win to progress to conference play-offs.
McKenna Dale (Brown University)
Brown face Dartmouth in their final Ivy League fixture. Only the top four teams qualify for play-offs and Brown are well down the league standings
Season over for:
Michelle Nicholls (University of Purdue, Fort Wayne)
Purdue finished a disappointing 1-15 in the Summit League.
LACEY LOWDOWN 