WASHINGTON — As the nation gears up for Selection Sunday, there will be just as much local intrigue one day later, as a pair of local teams await their fate on Selection Monday.
Both the Maryland Women and George Washington Women won their respective conference tournaments to ensure automatic berths to the NCAA Tournament, but their seeds, opponents and host sites remain up in the air.
The Women’s Tournament rewards the country’s best teams by giving the top 16 overall seeds hosting privileges for the first two rounds. Maryland is assured of such a benefit, and will play a pair of games in College Park next week. George Washington is right on the edge, sitting 19th in both the AP top 25 and USA Today Coaches poll, but 11th in the country in RPI. Charlie Creme, ESPN’s appointed Bracketology expert, currently has the Colonials hosting a four-team pod at the Smith center as a 4 seed.
After going 14-16 in head coach Jonathan Tsipis’ first year, the Colonials went 23-11 and reached the third round of the NIT last year before storming to a 29-3 record this season. They lost just one conference game and just one game at home all season, which was to Maryland.
“I’ve definitely felt the difference,” says Chakecia Miller, a senior guard from San Antonio. “Obviously, the outcomes after each year since my freshman year have been better each and every year.”
She’s not surprised by her team’s success this season, and believes it started as far back as July, when the team began to train for its international trip in August.
“This group of girls just got together and I saw our work ethic and how much we love challenges, and love to get in the gym when no one else was watching,” Miller says. “From that point on I knew we could do something special this year.”
Now they are not simply returning to the big dance, but they now have a chance to bring the action to Washington.
“It would be huge,” says Tsipis of the potential opportunity. “Obviously, from a selfish standpoint — our fans not having to travel, of our kids being able to sleep in their own beds, and the home court advantage, we feel like we have in the success we’ve had here in the last three years since I’ve been here, it would be a huge accomplishment.”
The Colonials will learn their fate Monday night at 7 p.m. when the brackets are announced. They will host an open watch party with the team at the Smith Center that night.
Meanwhile, 10 miles away, the Maryland Terrapins (30-2) have reeled off 24 straight wins, including the Big Ten title game win over Ohio State. Ranked third in the Coaches Poll and fourth in the AP, the Terps seem a virtual lock for a No.1 seed. Their watch party at the XFinity Center is drawing national attention, with ESPN slated to broadcast live from College Park.
Maryland’s two losses — which came to Washington State and Notre Dame back-to-back November 29 and December 3 — seem like ancient history for a team that has won 19 of the games on its current streak by 10 points or more. Head coach Brenda Frese credits one key improvement for her team’s success.
“We really wanted to improve our assist-to-turnover ratio and take care of the ball better,” she says.
Her team has done just that. After committing 20 or more turnovers four times in their first eight games (and a season-low seven assists vs. Notre Dame), the Terrapins have done so just twice in the 24 games since.
Maryland didn’t lose a single game to a Big Ten opponent, and the Terrapins were also a perfect 15-0 at home. But thanks to the schedule, despite running all the way through the conference tournament, they still get a chance to refresh and reset, with nearly two weeks off before the NCAA Tournament.
“I love this window,” says Frese, who gave her team the weekend off. “I can’t imagine coming off last weekend and going straight into the Tournament.”
Coach Tsipis agrees.
“A huge part at this point in the season is the mental and psychological side,” he says. “Get some kids some time off this week on Spring Break.”
Rested and ready for the next step, both teams will learn what stands in front of them Monday night.
