GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The Gettysburg College women's basketball team will make its second consecutive postseason run into the NCAA Division III Championship as the Bullets take on Christopher Newport University in the first round of the tournament, this time, on their home court.
 
Gettysburg (22-5) received at-large bid to the national tournament after finishing as the regular season champion in the Centennial Conference and runner-up in the league tournament. The Bullets are making their seventh trip to the big dance and it is the first time in 34 years the team has made back-to-back appearances. Last season, the Bullets travelled to Montclair State University and opened with a win over Albright College before falling to the host Red Hawks.
 
"It's a great feeling to bring our program back into the NCAA Tournament again this year," said Head Coach Nate Davis. "More importantly, it's great for this group of players. They put in the work all year long to accomplish one of our goals that we set for ourselves," continued Davis. "It's an honor for them to have earned the opportunity to be included in the NCAA Tournament field and to be able to compete against the best Division III women's basketball programs."  
 
Davis has guided the Bullets into the NCAA Tournament for the second time in four years at the helm of the program. This season, he has led the Orange and Blue to its third consecutive 20 plus win season, while the team received national recognition. Gettysburg was ranked in each D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll up until last week and was ranked on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) on five different occasions. The highest ranking the team received was No.18 two different times on the D3hoops.com poll.
 
This is the first time in Gettysburg history that a NCAA women's basketball tournament will be held in Bream Gym. Having the opportunity to play in front of your home crowd during the tournament is far and few between. With that, the team is looking forward to having the privilege of being able to do so.
 
"We are excited to play at home in front of our fans that have been with us all season," mentioned Davis. "It's truly a special opportunity that only 16 host teams across the country have."
 
Last season, the trio of senior Emma Dorshimer (Jenkintown, Pa./Jenkintown) and juniors Ashley Gehrin (Chester, N.J./West Morris Mendham) and Emma Hahner (Forest Hill, Md./C.Milton Wright) all started in both NCAA Tournament games, while senior Teal Tasker (Chambersburg, Pa./Mercersburg Academy), sophomore Meredith Brown (Landisburg, Pa./West Perry), and junior's Kiera Cesareo (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) and Tyler Keohan (Acton, Mass./Acton Boxborough Regional) all came off the bench to provide valuable minutes.
 
While these seven outstanding returning players have the experience of playing in the NCAA Tournament, the Bullets have eight freshmen who will be taking it all in for the first time.
 
"We will be relying on our experienced players to provide leadership and guidance for the new players," mentioned Davis. "Once the games start, it's just basketball. I think our new players will settle in and play the way they are capable of, as they've done all season long for us."
 
The first-year players have played a crucial role in the Bullets' success this season. Freshmen reserves Tori Yantsos (Rockville, Md./Holy Child) and Seanna McNamara (Berwyn, Pa./The Episcopal Academy) have seen action in all 27 games. Tierra Morris (Goochland, Va./Collegiate School) has participated in 24 games, while Christina Richson (Summit, N.J./Summit) and Mackenzie Tinner (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock High School North) have each played in 23 games this season. Yantsos leads Gettysburg in steals with 30, is second in blocks (14), and has dished out 42 assists. McNamara is third on the team in field goal percentage (46.5) and is tied fourth in rebounds per game (3.9). McNamara alongside Tinner has blocked 11 shots each.
 
On Wednesday, the Bullets featured three players on the All-Centennial Conference team, led by Dorshimer, who tabbed Player of the Year as well as first team honors. She enters the tournament leading the Orange and Blue with 16.9 points per game. Gehrin collected her second consecutive All-CC recognition as the team's second leading scorer, averaging 12.0 points per game. Brown notched her first all-conference honors after leading the team in rebounds per game (6.6) and field goal percentage (52.3), while being third in scoring (9.4 points per game). 
 
Gettysburg will face Christopher Newport (23-5, 11-3 CACC) for the third time in program history. The first meeting between the two schools came back in 1989-90 and the second coming more recently in 2012-13. The Captains topped the Bullets in each contest. Christopher Newport clinched a spot in the NCAA for the fourth consecutive season after winning the Capital Athletic Conference Championship. The Captains started the 2018-19 season by winning their first six games, but then 11th-ranked Messiah College spoiled the streak, claiming the narrow 68-62 victory. The four other losses came against Emory & Henry College, University of Mary Washington, Southern Virginia University, and York College (Pa.). Since the loss at York back on January 30th, the team has been riding a nine game-winning mark. Throughout most of the season, the Captains were nationally ranked, with their highest coming in at No. 11 on the D3hoops.com poll.
 
Christopher Newport is an experienced team that features three seniors in their starting lineup, all of whom have appeared in the NCAA Tournament in each season of their career. Senior Jessica Daguilh and junior Kiana Kirkland each collected first team All-CAC honors, while freshman Sondra Fan picked up Conference Rookie of the Year and Head Coach Bill Broderick registered his second career Conference Coach of the Year accolades. Kirkland leads the team in points per game (11.9) with Fan and Daquilh following right behind with 10.6 each. Daquilh is first on the squad in rebounds per game (7.1) and has grabbed a total of 198. Fan has dished out 61 assists and a team-high 62 steals.
 
"Christopher Newport is a well-coached team that plays hard and applies 90 feet of defense for 40 minutes," said Davis. "They are a strong program with several players having NCAA experience and are coming off another Capital Athletic Conference Championship. They will be a great test for us as all of the teams in the tournament are during this time of year." 
 
Should the Bullets get by the Captains, the winner between Mount Saint Mary (N.Y.) College (22-5) and Westfield State University (18-9) awaits Saturday at 6 p.m. Mount Saint Mary received an at-large bid, while Westfield State picked up the automatic qualifier out of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference. Mount Saint Mary and Westfield State will play on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
 
Mount Saint Mary has appeared in the tournament 14 times with the last being in 2012, while Westfield State earned its fourth straight tournament appearance and seventh overall in program history.
 
The Knights, are led by All-Skyline Conference Player of the Year and first team all-league honoree senior Kayla Cleare, who is averaging 12.4 points per game, 8.6 rebounds per game, and has blocked 37 shots. Leading the charge for the Owls is senior Lucy Barrett who is scoring 19.2 points per game and snagging 5.2 rebounds per game.
 
The ticket prices for the event are $7 for adults, $4 for students from participating schools, children 3-18, and senior citizens. Children two and under are admitted free. In addition, the first 400 students from Gettysburg College will be admitted free of charge and the first 150 will receive rally towels from Student Activities. Gettysburg fans are encouraged to wear orange on Friday night and white out on Saturday should the Bullets advance to the second round.