Elite Eight Coaches Meet the Media

Only eight teams among the 294 NCAA Division II members that participate in women’s basketball are still alive in the hunt for the 2010-11 national championship.

On Monday afternoon, the head coaches of those eight teams met the assembled media for the NCAA Division II Elite Eight press conference at the St. Joseph Civic Arena in St. Joseph, Mo.

Nationally top-ranked Arkansas Tech (30-2) will take on nationally third-ranked Michigan Tech (29-2) in one of four national quarterfinal games at the St. Joseph Civic Arena on Tuesday, March 22. Tip-off for the Golden Suns and the Huskies is set for 6 p.m.

Both Arkansas Tech and Michigan Tech rank among the top five teams in the nation in field goal percentage this season, but Golden Suns head coach Dave Wilbers used some humor to point out that is not necessarily an indication of what will happen when they meet each other for the first time ever.

“We’ve both shot the basketball very well all season long,” said Wilbers at Monday’s press conference. “We’ve led the nation in field goal percentage all season, and Michigan Tech has been right on our heels. So in tomorrow’s game we’ll probably both shoot in the 20-percent range and score in the 40s. That’s the way it normally goes when you have two great offensive teams.”

This is the second consecutive year that Wilbers has led Arkansas Tech to the NCAA Elite Eight. Wilbers is 106-20 in four years with the Golden Suns.

Michigan Tech head coach Kim Cameron is in her first year at the helm of the Huskies’ program, but she is no stranger to Michigan Tech or the Elite Eight.

Cameron played for Michigan Tech from 2001-05 and was an assistant coach for the Huskies from 2005-10. Her experience as an assistant coach included consecutive trips to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2009 and 2010.

She was promoted to head coach when John Barnes resigned as Michigan Tech head coach on June 8, 2010, to accept an assistant coaching position at the University of Wisconsin.

“Tempo will be the most important thing,” said Cameron at the pre-Elite Eight press conference when asked about her team’s match-up with Arkansas Tech. “Hopefully we will be able to hold (Arkansas Tech) down. We don’t play at a fast pace. It will be interesting to watch us go up against such a great offensive team.”

The Arkanas Tech-Michigan Tech game will be broadcast in the Arkansas River Valley on KWKK 100.9 FM.

Click here to access an Internet stream of the broadcast.

Click here to read more about Tuesday’s game between Arkansas Tech and Michigan Tech.

 

 

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