Holy Family Women Ready for 9th Straight NCAA Tourney
By Matt Leon
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – It has been another year of success for the Holy Family women's basketball team.
The 24-7 Tigers won the CACC title and for the 9th straight year they are headed to the Division II NCAA Tournament. The six-seed in the East Region, Holy Family will open play up on Friday against the three-seed Dowling College.
Holy Family's CACC title earned them an automatic berth, but head coach Mark Miller says that didn't diminish the excitement when the Tigers saw their name unveiled during Sunday night's selection show.
"We had a really good night last night. We just got together as a team and we had some pizza and soda and we sat there and waited for it to come up. It was special for our kids and our program, and we are thrilled to be in the tournament."
Holy Family brings an 11-game winning streak into the tournament. Miller talks about what has come together down the stretch.
"Once we figured out our roles and how we had to play as a team, things started to come together for us. We know we've got to guard you and we've got to rebound. When we did that night in and night out, we kind of got on a roll."
Holy Family is led by junior center Erin Mann of West Chester. She leads the team in scoring (18.3 ppg), rebounding (7.5 rpg) and blocks (66 on the season).
Defensively, the Tigers hold opponents to a shade over 57 points a game and 33% shooting from the field.
Dowling College brings a 22-6 record into the tournament. They are the champions of the East Coast Conference.
Holy Family and Dowling College will tip-off at noon on Friday on the campus of the region's top-seed, Bentley University, up in Waltham, Massachusetts. The winner here will play the winner of #2 Southern Connecticut and #7 C.W. Post on Saturday.
Listen to KYW's Matt Leon's interview with coach Mark Miller:
