Official SCAC Championship Website

The third-seeded Colorado College women's basketball team begins its quest for the program's first Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship on Friday, Feb. 25, against No. 6 Southwestern University at 6 p.m. MT in Sherman, Texas.

The Tigers have been on a methodical postseason climb during Katherine Menendez's six-year tenure as head coach, culminating with last year's berth in the championship game against host Trinity University. 

Unlike the previous five seasons, however, CC enters the tournament riding a seven-game winning streak and hopes to parlay its late-season momentum into a second consecutive showdown with Trinity, this time on a neutral court at Austin College.

After a somewhat rocky start to the 2021-22 season during which Tigers lost four games by four points or less, including two early conference games at Southwestern University and Texas Lutheran University by a combined four points, Colorado College has settled into a solid rotation and the team now is operating as a well-oiled machine.

"Watching this team grow and come together has been a true joy," Menendez said. "We've grown from early season challenges and are pulling together at the right time. Everyone is extremely confident about the run we can make in the SCAC tournament this weekend. Since day one, the opportunity to compete for a conference championship has been the goal and through the efforts of every single person on our team, we are in a position to do just that."

Since Dec. 31, the Tigers have compiled an 11-3 record, with two of the three blemishes the result of losses to top-seeded Trinity. CC finished the regular season with a 14-11 overall record, and with three more victories, the win total would be the most for the program since the 1989-90 squad posted a 17-9 mark.

One of the primary reasons the Tigers have been hitting on all cylinders has been the play of Anna Fanelli, who set the program and conference records for assists in a single season. The junior point guard also leads the nation with 221 assists and an average of 9.2 assists per game, and is seventh with a 2.8-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

With Fanelli orchestrating the balanced offense, Colorado College boasts five players averaging nine or more points per game, led by sophomore sharpshooter Audrey Bayston, who is tied for third in the SCAC at 14.8 per outing.

Junior forwards Rosie Braley and Talia Cloud average 9.6 and 9.0 points per game, while first-year forward Zoe Tomlinson is close behind at 8.6.

Tomlinson leads the Tigers averaging 8.2 rebounds per game, while Braley (7.6), Bayston (6.3) and Cloud (5.6) all have contributed to CC's ranking of ninth in Division III with a 12.6 rebounding margin.

Colorado College and Southwestern split their two regular-season games. The Pirates prevailed 71-68 in Georgetown in the first game of conference play on Dec. 17, but the Tigers avenged that result with a 71-58 victory on Feb. 5 at Reid Arena.

The winner of Friday's first-round game faces second-seeded Texas Lutheran in a semifinal game on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 6 p.m. MT.

CC also split its two earlier meetings against the Bulldogs. TLU posted an 83-82 win in Seguin on Dec. 18, while the Tigers answered with a 67-63 victory on Feb. 6 at home.

On the other side of the bracket, fifth-seeded Austin College plays host to No. 4 Schreiner University on Friday at 4 p.m. MT, with the winner facing No. 1 Trinity in the first semifinal game on Saturday at 4 p.m. MT.

Sunday's championship game tips off at 1 p.m. MT, with the victor earning the SCAC's automatic berth in the 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship.