WAUKESHA, Wis. – The No. 2 seed Carroll University women's basketball team will begin their quest for their first CCIW Women's Basketball Tournament title, starting this Friday February 24 at 5 PM. The Pioneers have drawn No. 3 seed Augustana College as their opponent after the Vikings defeated Carthage in the quarterfinal round on Tuesday night.
 
The Pioneers (17-8, 12-4 CCIW) make their third-straight CCIW semifinals appearance this Friday, but this is the first time since 1990-91 the Pioneers have finished as the no. 2 seed in the conference and had a first-round bye. Carroll's second-place finish is the first time the Pios have finished at least second in any conference since 2006-2007. That was also the last time Carroll had back-to-back 17+ win seasons as well.
 
Carroll enters the postseason after a spectacular offensive season, that saw Carroll finish seventh in the country in field goal percentage (45.4%). Carroll scored 71.2 PPG this season and held teams to 56.8 PPG on 37.2% shooting. The Pioneers also hold top 100 marks in the Nation in turnovers forced per game and turnover margin, steals per game, and assists per game. Individually, Pioneers stood out across the country too. Allison Thompson ranks in the top 20% of Division III in blocks per game with 2.14, while Olivia Rangel's field goal percentage of 53.0% is 29^th overall in Division III.
 
The Pioneers and Vikings match up for a third time this season, with both teams grasping a regular season win in the two matchups. Carroll fell on the road at Rock Island on January 8 by a score of 64-67. Carroll struggled shooting the basketball behind the three-point arc, not landing a single shot. Rangel scored 21 points followed by Emilie Wizner's 11 off the bench as Carroll came up short in their fourth-quarter comeback. In the second game, Carroll held off Augustana late in Van Male Field House to secure a 78-73 win. Carroll found themselves down 25-13 after the first quarter, but stayed in the game and held on in a wild second half. Rangel and Brooke Foster combined for 39 points with four made three-pointers to keep Carroll out front, despite 37 points with 10 made three-pointers from Augustana's Macy Beinborn.
 
With a win Friday, Carroll would advance to their first-ever CCIW Tournament Championship game. The winner of the 2023 CCIW Women's Basketball Tournament clinches an automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA DIII Women's Basketball Championship Tournament. Carroll would face the winner of No. 1 seed and host Millikin, and No. 5 seed Ill. Wesleyan.
 
Live coverage of the 2023 CCIW Women's Basketball Tournament will be linked on gopios.com courtesy of Millikin University. Fans interested in attending can visit the tournament central page linked on Carroll's schedule page, or at the top of this page.