Back in Billings, Flying Queens ready to make another run at NAIA National Championships

Bracket
Alesha Ellis remembers how tough it was when she made her first trip to the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championships as the first-year head coach of the Flying Queens back in 2014.

"If you've never been there are a lot of unknowns and you don't really know what to expect," Ellis said. "It's just hard."

In fact, it wasn't until Ellis' fifth appearance at nationals last season that she and the Flying Queens realized their first victories at the tournament, advancing all the way to the Fab Four.

Now the Flying Queens are back in Billings, and they hope to make another successful run beginning with Thursday morning's first-round game against a team making its very first appearance at nationals, William Jessup (Calif.).

"It's their first time in history to make the tournament, so experience is one of our advantages," Ellis said. "Having been there, we know you have to bring it every game."

The seventh-ranked Flying Queens (28-5) and William Jessup (20-10), ranked the equivalent of 26^th in the NAIA, tip off at 11:45 a.m. CDT (10:45 MDT) Thursday at Rim Rock Arena.

The NAIA Network will broadcast the first 30 games leading up to the championship final on ESPN3. The video platform allows users access to live video, statistics, and social interaction on a number of devices, including mobile. Single-day passes can be purchased for $9.95, while an all-tournament package is available at $34.95.

For more information on the 2018-19 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship, click here.

Ellis said her team is "healthy and ready to go" as Wayland, making its 26^th appearance at NAIA Nationals, tries to outdo last season's run to the Fab Four, which was the Flying Queens' most successful showing since 1992 when they finished as runners-up.

To get to the Fab Four again, though, Wayland first has to beat William Jessup.

"Everybody I've talked to said they are really hard workers, and a team that works hard can be scary," Ellis said of the Warriors. "We have to make sure we go into the game with the right mind-set. You can never under-estimate anybody. We need a lot of energy out of the gate."

Ellis said the Warriors are guard-heavy.

"They have a lot of guards. They like to run a four-out, one-in," she said, adding, "They have two really good post players we're going to have to handle. We're bigger in a lot of spots, so we have to take advantage of that."

William Jessup boasts a pair of 6-foot-3 players who are just taller than Wayland's biggest players at 6-2. One of those Warriors, sophomore center Miranda Zaragoza, ranks fifth in the NAIA in offensive rebounds at 4.6 per game.

"Their post players are really good rebounders, so we have to limit their second-chance shots," Ellis said.

As a team, William Jessup ranks seventh in the NAIA in defensive rebounds per game (30.4). Wayland also is strong on the glass, ranking third in total rebounds (46.4) and sixth in offensive boards (16.5).

"It'll come down to defense and rebounds. Whoever does the best job there will win," Ellis predicted.

Like Wayland, William Jessup is very well-rounded on offense with no player averaging more than 12 points a game.

Remarkably, Wayland – seeded second in its eight-team quadrant at the 32-team event – and No. 7 seed William Jessup are providing one of three first-round games pitting schools from the Sooner Athletic Conference against the Golden State Athletic Conference. In the others, 10^th-ranked Oklahoma City takes on No. 21 Arizona Christian, and Science & Arts of Oklahoma, ranked the equivalent of 28^th, goes against No. 5 The Master's.

William Jessup will be the fourth GSAC team that SAC Tournament champion Wayland faces this season, having met The Master's, No. 8 Westmont and No. 13 Vanguard on a trip to California in mid-December. The Flying Queens defeated Vanguard, then ranked No. 1 in the NAIA, but lost to The Master's and Westmont. William Jessup went 0-7 against that trio.

"They are the sixth team in their conference, but they played everybody real close," Ellis said of the Warriors. "That's a really tough conference."

Wayland narrowly fell to Westmont in the national semifinals last season, 56-54. Westmont then fell to Freed-Hardeman, Tenn., in the championship, 76-64. Top-ranked Freed-Hardeman (31-2) is the No. 1 overall seed this season.

The Wayland-William Jessup winner advances to a second-round game at 5:30 p.m. (CDT) Friday against either third-seeded, 12^th-ranked Our Lady of the Lake of San Antonio or sixth-seeded, 22^nd-ranked Loyola, La. The Flying Queens defeated Our Lady of the Lake in the second game of the season at a tournament in Oklahoma City, 101-77.
 
Should Wayland continue to win, the Flying Queens would play in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Saturday, in the semifinals at 9 p.m. Monday, and in the championship at 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 19. The championship game will be televised by ESPN3. (All times CDT).
 
The top seed in Wayland's quadrant is second-ranked Campbellsville, Ky. (31-2), a team the Flying Queens played last season in Hawaii (falling, 65-52).

"I like our draw (because) we're kind of familiar with that side of the bracket," Ellis said. "Our main goal is to win a national championship. If we can do that it will be awesome.

"We just need to get past that first game."