ADRIAN, Mich. – The Adrian College women's basketball team is set to compete in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Conference Tournament tomorrow night. The Bulldogs will tip-off against the No. 3 seed, Calvin Knights, at 7:00 PM at the Van Noord Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
After a 7-18 overall record, and a 6-10 conference record, the Bulldogs squeezed into the MIAA Tournament as the No. 6 seed. Adrian ended its season strong with a conference win over Saint Mary's last weekend to clinch their spot, and recently defeated Calvin as well, back on February 8 at the Merillat Sport and Fitness Center.
Adrian dropped its first conference battle with Calvin earlier in January on the road, but redeemed themselves with an impressive 60-57 win over the Knights exactly one month later. The Bulldogs also picked up two conference wins against Saint Mary's and Olivet, to go along with solo wins over Calvin and Kalamazoo this season.
Leading for the Bulldogs in 2024-25, was the strong and noteworthy play of Junior guard,
Morgan Babb. The Caledonia, Michigan native finished first on the team in numerous statistical categories including minutes played, field-goals made, field-goal attempts, free-throws made, free-throw attempts, points scored, average points-per-game, rebounds, average rebounds-per-game, and blocks. Babb also recorded double-doubles on five different occasions; the most of any player on the team. She was also one of only two players to start all 25 games for the Bulldogs, alongside Sophomore guard,
Kaitlyn Otto.
Other notable players aiding the offense throughout this season include
Hannah Lisch,
Kylie Skidmore,
Aubrie Ickes,
Darby Lienerth, and Otto; all of whom have absorbed the majority of minutes and contributed at both ends of the court for Adrian. Off the bench, the likes of
Emma McElroy,
Anya Riley,
Ashlyn Weatherly,
Jenna Tierman, and
Lauren Bartkiewicz have also had significant impacts in the Bulldogs' success so far.
As mentioned, the women's basketball portion of the MIAA Tournament will kick-off tomorrow night with two quarterfinal games. The Bulldogs will face the Calvin Knights, meanwhile over in Albion, the No. 4 seed Britons of Albion College will clash with the No. 5 seed Alma Scots at 7:00 PM as well, with the winners of both games advancing to the semifinal round on February 28.
Trine University claimed the No. 1 seed in the conference after a perfect 16-0 record. With that, the Thunder receive a bye to the semifinals and will host the final-four bracket. Hope College finished second to Trine in the regular season, earning a 14-2 conference record, which also provides them with a bye to the semifinals. The Championship game will be played on March 1 in Angola, Indiana featuring the two semifinal victors. Kalamazoo College, Saint Mary's College, and The University of Olivet were the three squads unsuccessful in cracking the conference tournament this season.
In his first season at the helm of Adrian College Women's Basketball, Head Coach
Sam Miller '10, was eager to recap the season and to talk about the opportunity that lies ahead for his team.
"We are really proud of the season we've had so far", Miller stated.
"The improvement that we've made as a team, and the individual development our players have experienced are a testament to their work ethic they bring to the court every day. We're excited for the MIAA quarterfinals tomorrow because it's another great opportunity for the players to compete and continue to elevate the program."
Tomorrow's game between the Bulldogs and Knights will be streamed live on the Calvin Knights YouTube page. Fans can also hear it live on
96.5 The Cave or follow along the official live-stats tracker. Tickets to the game can be purchased
here on the MIAA website. For information regarding the women's basketball MIAA Conference Tournament, please visit the
official tournament page on the MIAA website.
