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ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – After a nine-year hiatus, the College of Saint Benedict basketball team is back in the NCAA Tournament. CSB – which is ranked 24^th in Division III and earned an at-large bid to the tournament - makes its 2018 tournament debut at 5:30 p.m. Friday, March 2, when it takes on George Fox as part of the Wartburg Pod in Waverly, Iowa.
 
This marks the 17^th trip to nationals for CSB, and for head coach Mike Durbin. Durbin – who was named the MIAC Coach of the Year for the sixth time in his 32-year career Wednesday – said he's excited his current team gets to make some of the same memories his teams from years past had the opportunity to make on trips to the big dance.
 
"The number of texts I have received from former players since Monday is so fun," Durbin said. "Many of those players reflected on their own tournament experiences, and said they still think about those times. That's what I want this group to experience: competing among the best 64 teams in the country."
 
Saint Benedict heads into Friday's game riding high after a big week. After earning a national tournament berth Monday, Wednesday the team learned of Durbin's latest coach of the year honor, and four CSB athletes earned a spot on four different All-MIAC teams. Seniors Niki Fokken and Chelsey Guetter earned first team nods, and Sidney Schiffler and Megan Thompson earned honorable mention accolades. Fokken also earned a spot on the All-MIAC Defensive Team, and Thompson was named to the All-First Year Team.
 
Fokken, who leads the team in scoring at 14.1 points per game, needs just eight points to reach the 1,000-point milestone in her four-year career. She leads the team with 41 blocked shots and a .481 field-goal percentage. Guetter averages a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game, and leads the team with 49 assists and 37 steals. As a team, CSB averaged 64.6 points per game while giving up just 54.
 
CSB heads into the tournament 22-4 overall – the most wins since 2009-10 – and looks to bounce back after dropping the last game of the regular season and then falling in the MIAC semifinals.
 
The Bruins, CSB's first-round opponent, is no stranger to the national tournament – past or present. George Fox – which won its 12^th Northwest Conference title last week – is making its 14^th trip to the national tournament since 2000, and its fifth straight. GFU reached the Sweet 16 in 2016 and the Final Four in 2015.
 
The Bruins are currently ranked 13^th in the d3hoops.com poll, and head into Friday's game on a 13-game winning streak, with their last loss coming on Jan. 12. Despite being on the West Coast, CSB and the Bruins have two common opponents: Bethel and St. Thomas. George Fox fell 68-64 to Bethel on Nov. 25, then lost 65-57 to St. Thomas on Nov. 26.
 
Senior Kaitlin Jamieson leads the team in scoring (11.9) and rebounds (7.1), leads the NWC with 72 blocks and is 37 points away from the 1,000-point milestone. Tavin Headings, Haylee Hutzler and Emily Spencer all average 9.1 points per game, and two other players average at least seven points for George Fox, which is averaging just under 75 points per game as a team while giving up just under 60. The Bruins – who have just five upperclassmen on their roster – have given up 60 or more points just three times in the last 10 games, and have only scored less than 80 points twice in that span.
 
"George Fox is traditionally one of the top D3 programs in the country, so we know that we have our hands full," Durbin said. "Offensively, they have a very balanced attack from the arc, in the paint and off the dribble. I believe we are prepared to be pressed and trapped defensively, which is not new to us."
 
Host-school Wartburg – one of five undefeated women's basketball team in all of the NCAA – takes on Webster in the second game of the night Friday at 8 p.m. Friday's winners play at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 3, and that winner heads to sectionals March 9-10.