Cabrini College Women's Hoops Gets Muhlenberg In D3 Tourney First Round

By Matt Leon

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- It is a return to the Division III NCAA Tournament for the Cabrini College women's basketball team as they crack the field for a third straight season.

The Cavaliers are the champions of the Colonial States Athletic Conference and on Friday they will match-up with Muhlenberg College in the first round at SUNY-Genseo.

"It's very exciting," Cabrini head coach Kate Pearson tells KYW Newsradio. "We're definitely thrilled about the opportunity to go back to the NCAA Tournament and continue to get to play right now in March when some other teams do not have that same opportunity."

Listen: Kate Pearson with KYW's Matt Leon

The 24-3 Cavaliers actually started this season 0-2, but since then they have won 24 of 25 and they will bring an 18-game winning streak into the tournament. They are being led by senior forward Amber Keys who averages 17.2 points and 9.9 rebounds a game.

Muhlenberg is 20-7 this season and the Mules are the champions of the Centennial Conference. They have won 17 of 19 since a 3-5 start.

"They bring a lot of length, they have a lot of experience," Pearson says. "Couple kids from the area that we know a little bit about. They are coming out of the Centennial, which is a strong league where they are tested night in and night out. So they are used to playing against really good competition and winning some tight games. They have really, really played well recently."

Cabrini has played outstanding defense all season long, allowing just 49.9 points a game while holding opponents to 33% shooting from the field. Pearson says they have to continue to play to that strength in the tournament.

"Defense is definitely going to continue to be an important part for us," Pearson says. "So we'll make sure to focus in on that and look at the things that we'll have to do to make it tough for them on the offensive end. They are also a pretty good defensive team, they have a lot of length and so we're going to have to be ready to knock down some shots on the outside because I have a feeling that they'll try and take some of our inside play away."

Cabrini and Muhlenberg will get underway at 5:30pm on Friday. The winner of this game will play the winner of SUNY-Geneseo and Castleton State in the second round on Saturday.

You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.