MWC Championships Site

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa – For the second year in a row, the Grinnell College women's basketball team is gearing up to participate in the Midwest Conference Tournament.
 
And like last year, the Pioneers will take on Cornell College in the semifinals. The contest in Mount Vernon tips off at 5 p.m. and will be followed by a battle between St. Norbert College and Ripon College.
 
Grinnell, the tourney's fourth seed, brings records of 14-9 overall and 12-6 in the MWC into the contest. Top-seeded Cornell is 19-4 overall and 17-1 in the league.
 
Cornell won two previous meetings this season, posting a 56-39 victory at Grinnell on Dec. 7 and then eking out a 59-52 victory Jan. 25 at Mount Vernon.
 
Grinnell has been led this season by Kayla Morrissey '18, who leads the MWC in scoring with 16.3 points per game. Sophia Gatton '17 averages 8.1 a contest and Alex Neckopulos '18 is at 7.1 per outing.
 
Neckopulos ranks third in the league in rebounding with 7.7 per game and Morrissey is close behind at 7.3. Gatton is tops on the team in assists and steals with 2.8 and 1.2, respectively.
 
Diamond Boyd and Sierra Bisso lead Cornell in the scoring department with averages of 15.8 and 14.0 points. Boyd is tops in the MWC in rebounding with a 9.0 average, and she and Bisso lead the league in steals with 3.1 a game. Haley Grana is the team's leader in assists with 3.0 per outing.
 
The winners of Friday's semifinals meet at 3 p.m. Saturday for the title. That winner earns the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III National Tournament.