WAUKESHA, Wis. – The Carroll University women's basketball team is getting set to host the first round of the 2022 CCIW Women's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday, February 22 at 7 PM. The Pioneers will host the North Central College Cardinals in a #3 vs #6 matchup.
 
This is the highest the Pioneers have finished in the CCIW since re-joining the conference, and the highest seed they've ever been in the CCIW tournament. Carroll hosts back-to-back games in the CCIW Tournament after never qualifying for the event in their first four years back in the conference. "It's a testament to our hard work to get the first playoff game at home," Says senior guard Katie Evans. 'We've been working the whole season for this moment." 
 
The Pioneers faced North Central twice in the regular season, finishing with a season sweep of the Cardinals, after suffering a three-game losing streak in the past three outings. Carroll won the first contest against NCC on January 31 in Waukesha, by a whopping score of 75-42. Freshman guard Olivia Rangel led the Pioneers in scoring with a then season-high 16 points to go with five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Two other Pioneers finished in double digits as Carroll shot 42.6% from the field.
 
Two weeks later, Carroll held North Central to under 40% shooting in the 69-55 victory on the road. Freshman guard Chloe Halverson dropped 16 points on 5-7 shooting with eight rebounds in her first career start. Carroll also knocked down a season-high nine three-point baskets.
 
In the two games against North Central, the Pioneers have outscored the Cardinals 72-48.5, winning by a margin of 23.5 PPG. Carroll finished with 95 total rebounds in two games and grabbed 14.5 more per game on average. Carroll held NCC to under 32% shooting through two games and outscored the Cardinals 82-49 in the second half of those games. Rangel and junior guard Kate Christian led the attacks on offense with 15 PPG and 13 PPG, respectively, while sophomore forward Allison Thompson had 1.5 blocks per game. "The biggest thing for us is pushing the tempo," Says Rangel when asked about how they're going to continue to play the Cardinals. "We're trying to force easy turnovers to turn them into easy baskets."
 
Live video and live statistics will be available for the contest at gopios.com/wbb. Admission for the event will be $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and children under 14, while students with current CCIW institutional IDs will have free admission. Free t-shirts will be available for the first 250 students who arrive in Van Male Field House on Tuesday night. "We love having the fans here, the atmosphere is great," says Christian when asked about how the crowd has helped them in home games this season. 

Carroll will still be following the 2021-22 Indoor Spectator policy, which can be found here.