LILBURN, Ga. - Before tip-off of the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball championship, the Malone University women's basketball team will enter under the receiving votes section of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) poll.
 
The Pioneers are 25-6 overall after they were runners-up in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Tournament. They lost the Championship Final game to Northwood University 64-53 and will now face the Timberwolves for the fourth time this season in their opening game of the NCAA Tournament.
 
Malone has one of the top scoring defenses in the Midwest Region at 58.5 opponents' points per game. That only trailed Grand Valley State University and the University of Missouri-St. Louis, both of which will be in Allendale, Michigan for the postseason. The Pioneers also have the fourth-best scoring margin of teams remaining at +10.1.
 
Senior center and First Team All-Conference honoree Erin Kaufman is inside the top five of players on Midwest Regional squads in scoring at 16.9 points per game and fourth in rebounds per game at 9.1. She gets to the free throw line at an extremely high rate (third in attempts in the region) and makes the most of those opportunities at 84.0%. The bench unit that averages 25.8 points per game will also be key with student-athletes such as Meredith Randulic, Nataley Armstrong and Bridget Barber among others that are sure to make an impact in the postseason.
 
Other teams in the region mentioned in the poll include #2 Grand Valley State University, #16 Ferris State University, #23 Northwood University, #24 Northern Michigan University and the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Wayne State University, who are also receiving votes nationally.
 
Tip-off for Malone's First Round game against #23 Northwood will be at 12:00 P.M. on Friday, March 13.