By Benny Rogers/TVCC Sports Information
It’s time to Cardinal up!
The 11th-seeded Cardinals (27-4) get their feet wet today with their first round game in the national tournament in the second day of the event at the historic Hutchinson Sports Arena. They are scheduled to face No. 22 seed Monroe College (NY) at noon.
Monroe is 24-8 on the year and enters the national tournament riding a four-game winning streak. Though the Cardinals lost their final outing in the quarterfinals of the Region XIV Tournament, they have won 14 of their last 15 games.
To get to the national tournament, Monroe took care of Harcum in the Region XV championship game, 71-68 in overtime. In last year’s national tournament, the Cardinals fell 69-56 to Harcum in the Elite 8.
The TVCC-Harcum winner advances to face No. 6 seed Hutchinson (28-6) at 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Monday’s opening day of the tournament was good to three of the five Texas teams in action. Region XIV champion Tyler was a 79-62 winner against Faulkner State and Hill slipped past Gillette, 85-83. San Jacinto was a narrow 76-74 loser to Columbia State.
South Plains, the tournament’s No. 8 seed, is the fifth Texas team in the tournament, along with the Cardinals, Tyler, Hill and San Jacinto. South Plans plays Vincennes today at 4:30 p.m.
Today’s game against Monroe will be the Cardinals’ 16th game in tournament history. They carry a 10-5 record into the nigh noon showdown.
The third-seeded Lady Cards, meanwhile, will spend another day as a spectator at the women’s tournament in Salina. They don’t play their first game until Wednesay at 5 p.m., when they will face the winner between No.14 East Arizona and No. 19 Wallace State.
In Monday’s opening round, 10th-seeded Tyler, the only other Texas team in the tournament, rolled to a 97-52 win against No. 23 seed Lawson State. Tyler, which fell 65-55 to the Lady Cards in the Region XIV Tournament title game, received an at-large bid.
All Lady Cardinal and Cardinal tournament games will be available for viewing online at www.njcaatv.ihigh.com. In fact, all tournament games will be webcast. Also, for audio only, you can hear the games at www.KSAL.com.
It’s 43 and clear in Salina this morning. The forecast for today calls for sunny with brisk north/northeast winds and a high of 60. Wednesay’s forecast is calling for a high of 57 with a slight chance of showers.
Send all your positive vibes and thoughts the Cardinals’ way today.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!