2004

ECCC women in national tournament this week ..'.

Riding 22-game streak, Lady Warriors earn 1Oth seed in 16-team event By ROCKY HIGGINBOTHAM !Sport.\ Editor The EaM Central Community Col– lege women\ bru.ketball team gol a big ~endoff for the National Tourna– ment last week: and on Monday. for– mer ECCC coach Luc1llc Wood wa~ slated to lx' inducted into the National Jumor College llall of Fame. ECCC women's coach Brad Hodgl: 1' JU\t hopmg the it's the start of a week-long celebration for the Lady Wmiors. f:a,t Central wru, scheduled to open ~ pia) 111 the 16-team Division I Nation- ' al Championship tournament onTues– da}. when the lOth-seeded Lady War– rior:. were to balticThree Rivers (Mo.) Community College in an opening– day contest. ECCC action from the nat10nal tournament can be heard on IOJJ FM, and updates can also be found onhne at www.salinakansas.org or www.bicentennial.org.

The Lad) Warriors, fresh otT an NJCAA Rcgwn ::!3 Tournament title and the. pr ~Thm \ fir,t state chrunpi- 0115lup m 25 \Car.. took a 22-game wmning 'trcak and a 29-2 overall record with them to SaJma, Kan.. to compete tor a nauonal lltle. ·we got a gre:n 'endoff and these girls de, en e that kind of support," Hodge said after the Lad} Warriors were honored \\ 1th a pep rail} on the Decatur campu' la.,t Thul'\da}. "It's been a \\Ondcrful 'ca-.on ... we're gomg to go out there and do our best to win a te\\ ~ames." Missi,~.ppi team, traditionally have not fared \\CIIm recent years in the national tourn<.') - \\hich rna) be one reason the Lad) Warnor~ recctved a No. 10 seed ECCC "pons a record better than ,c,en of the nine teams seeded in front of Hodge's bunch– including Three RI\Crs. which entered Tuesday's game with a 26 5 record. The Lady Raiders won the Region 16 championship. The national toumament. which is held at Salina·s Bicentennial Center, i~ a double-clurunat10n event - so E:.al.t

Central will play at least two games this week. A win Tuesday sends the Lad) Warriors into an 8 p.m. g~artertinal matchup tonight against either sec– ond-seeded Gulf Coast (Aa.) Commu– ni!} College or Lake Region (N.D.) State College. Gulf Coast, Fla.. entered the tourney with a 31-1 record. with onJy top-seeded Trinity VaUe) (Texas) Community College sponmg a better record. A Tuesda} Joss mea115 ECCC will pia} in an elimination contest Thurs– da} at I0 a.m. Semifinals are set for Fnda}, with the national champi– onship game slated for Saturday. Correction The parents of Neshoba Central softball standout Allison McDaniel.· who was pictured in last week's edi– tion of The Neshoba Democrat as having signed a scholarship to play at East Central Community College, should have been listed as Tim and Linda McDaniel. The Democrat regrets the error.

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