Sterling College

Sterling, KS. - The Sterling College Women’s Basketball team will face Cornerstone University (MI) on Thursday March 13^th at 4:00 p.m. in the first round of the NAIA Division II National Tournament at the Tyson Event Center in Sioux City, Iowa

Cornerstone, a member of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference received the #6 at-large bid to play in the 32 team national tournament. The Golden Eagles tied for the WHAC regular season championship posting a 13-1 record along side Davenport College. The automatic qualifier from the WHAC was the tournament champion Aquinas who defeated the Golden Eagles in the semifinals of the WHAC tournament. Davenport the other team from the WHAC has KCAC foe Southwestern in the first round.

Cornerstone enters the tournament for the fifth time in their school history with a record of 7-5. Cornerstone was the national runner-up in 2001-2002.

The Lady Warriors clinched the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season championship with a 16-1 record and the KCAC Tournament Championship this past Wednesday night against Southwestern College, this was Sterling’s 9th KCAC regular season title and will be their 12th trip to the NAIA Div. II National Tournament all under Head Coach Lonnie Kruse.

Sterling (23-7) is led by KCAC Player of the Year Ashley Kraft (5’10, Jr., F, Ransom, Kan.). Kraft is averaging 16.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game this season.

Jenna Plewes (5’10, So., G, Zeeland, MI.) leads the Cornerstone Golden Eagles (24-8) in scoring at 14.2 points per game, and is shooting 47.3 percent from the floor. Cornerstone also has two other players averaging in double figures in Brooke Carter and Kara Overbeek.

Sterling is currently 13-11 at the NAIA National Tournament after losing to Bethel (IN) last year in the Sweet Sixteen.

Tournament brackets, game times, and general information are available at the NAIA website www.naia.org