The Luther College women open the NCAA division three tournament at home tonight against Concordia of Wisconsin. The Norse used a smothering defense enroute to the Iowa Conference regular season and tournament titles. The are 22-4 overall and have won their last 16 games.
Luther coach Jane Hildebrand says defense has been their "heart and soul" as it’s a little bit different defense than most teams see. Luther is yielding an average of only 51 and a half points per game. Hildebrand says they are happy to be playing at home especially considering how difficult the travel has been. She says the fans gave them great support in the last snowstorm and have been fantastic.
Concordia has also been on a hot streak and carries a 19 game winning streak into its first NCAA appearance. Carroll College and Illinois Wesleyan meet in the other first round game. Friday’s winners will meet in Saturday’s second round.