By: Mike Smith
After a historic win in the opening round of the NJCAA Division I National Tournament, the Dodge City women's basketball team is set to continue their season on Wednesday, March 27th at 8:00 pm (7:00 pm MT) in the second round of the tournament.
With the 75-57 win over East Georgia State in the opening round the Conquistadors improved to 27-6 on the season and now draw the two-seed Wabash Valley in the second round as the season continues.
The Conqs average 79 points per game (13th in the nation) on 43.3% field goal percentage while continuing to look to utilize their three-point shooting and more to continue the National Tournament. The Conqs drained 10 threes in the first-round win and have made a NJCAA-best 347 three's on the season and shoot 36.5% from three-point range. The Conqs are holding their opponents to 64.1 points per game on 34.9% shooting and stymied East Georgia State's offense in the first round holding them to under 30% shooting.
The Conqs opponent Wabash Valley comes into the National Tournament ranked #2 in the NJCAA DI polls and Midwest District/Region 24 champions. Wabash Valley is the top-scoring team in the nation at 101.8 points per game on 46.9% shooting while holding their opponents to 63.1 points per game on 36.8% shooting. The Warriors also led the nation in steals per game at 17.8 and ranked fifth in assists per game (19.9). The 27-2 Warriors of Wabash Valley are led by six double-figure scorers with Aaliyah Smith and Beautiful Waheed leading the charge. Smith averages 17.9 points and 6.4 assists per game, while Waheed adds 17.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
The Conqs will look to build upon their first-round win and compete against Wabash Valley to earn a win to move into the Elite Eight of the tournament where they will play again on Friday, March 29th against the winner of the Odessa versus North Dakota State College of Science matchup.