The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team begins play in the 2020 NCAA Division III Championship Friday against Redlands (Calif.) at Kachel Gymnasium. The Warhawks earned an at-large bid to the national tournament after claiming the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season championship, while the Bulldogs claimed an automatic bid by virtue of winning the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament title. UW-Whitewater is making its 19th trip to the national tournament and 12th in the last 13 years.

Tickets for the games cost $10 for adults and $5 for youth, senior citizens and college students with identification. Children under 3 years old will receive free admission. A limited number of complimentary tickets are available for UW-Whitewater students who reside in University Housing residences and DLK Enterprises properties, and can be picked up at the headquarters of each organization.

To purchase advance tickets, click here. Tickets will also be available 90 minutes prior to tip-off of Friday's first game and Saturday's game at the door.

Friday's game can be seen live on UWW-TV on channel 100.1 on campus, Spectrum channel 989 for subscribers in the Whitewater area and online. It can also be heard live on KOOL 106.5 FM WKCH in the Whitewater area and online at 940wfaw.com.

All three games for the weekend will air on UWW-TV, and fans can follow live stats for all three games here.

Last Time Out

UW-Whitewater was outscored 24-14 in the second quarter and wasn't able to recover in an 81-65 setback against UW-Oshkosh in the semifinals of the WIAC Championship (Presented by Culver's) on Feb. 27 at Kachel Gymnasium. Veronica Kieres (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) and Aleah Grundahl (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) tallied 11 points apiece to lead the Warhawks, who were limited to 32.4 percent shooting for the contest.

In The Rankings

The Warhawks enter the week ranked eighth in the D3hoops.com Top 25, 10th in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association NCAA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll, and first in the NCAA Central Region rankings. UW-Whitewater racked up six wins over teams ranked in the Central Region, including No. 4 UW-Oshkosh, No. 5 Illinois Wesleyan, No. 8 UW-La Crosse (x2) and No. 9 UW-Eau Claire (x2), as well as a victory over St. Thomas (Minn.), which is seventh in the West Region. Redlands is not ranked in any poll. Trine is ranked 23rd in the D3hoops.com Top 25 and fifth in the Great Lakes Region, and Benedictine is seventh in the Central Region and receiving votes in the D3hoops.com poll.

About Redlands

Redlands claimed the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament championship last Saturday with a 62-55 victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripts, claiming an automatic bid to their second NCAA Tournament in program history and first since 2010. Alyssa Downs knocked down five 3-pointers on her way to a game-high 22 points, and Cassandra Lacey posted 19 points to lead the Bulldogs, who held CMS to 30.8 percent shooting in the contest. After the Athenas hit a game-tying layup with 10 seconds left in regulation, Redlands finished with an 11-4 scoring advantage in overtime.

Series

Friday's game is the first-ever meeting between UW-Whitewater and Redlands. 

Up Next

The winner of Friday's contest advances to Saturday's second round against the winner of Friday's other first round game featuring Benedictine (Ill.) and No. 23 Trine (Ind.). Tipoff of Saturday's affair is scheduled for 7 p.m.

UW-Whitewater has faced Benedictine on four previous occasions, winning all four match-ups. The most recent game was played on Nov. 21, 1997, when the Warhawks topped the Eagles 71-60. 

UW-Whitewater played Trine back on Dec. 28, 2018, falling 71-55 in Lexington, Ky. Emily Schumacher (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha South) recorded 16 points, while Adriana Green (Racine, Wis./Horlick) added 11 points off the bench.

To view the entire edition of this weekend's game notes, click here.