ET BASKETBALL: Fillies to play No. 14 CSTC in tourney

By JACK STALLARD - Longview News Journal

Friday, March 18, 2005

Region XIV champion Panola College, heading to its first national tournament in nearly 30 years, finally knows its first-round opponent for next week's NJCAA National Women's Basketball Tournament.

The Fillies, 29-3 and ranked 10th in the final NJCAA poll, will battle No. 14 Cincinnati State Technical College in the third game of the tournament at 2 p.m. Tuesday. The event is set for March 22-26 at the Bicentennial Center in Salina, Kan.

Panola is making its first trip to the national tournament since winning it all back in 1978 – the second of a back-to-back national championship run for the Fillies. Panola, under third-year head coach Tracey Stellato, finished second in the Region XIV Conference regular season race to defending national champion Trinity Valley, but won the conference tournament on TVCC's home court with victories over Blinn and Lon Morris. Trinity Valley was upset in the semifinals by Lon Morris.

The Cincinnati State Technical College Surge brings a 30-1 record into the tournament, going 14-0 in the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference. The Surge defeated Vincennes University in the regional tournament, and then knocked off Sauk Valley in an inter-regional championship game to advance to the national tournament.

Panola won the regional tournament a week ago, but the tournament pairings were not released until Thursday.

‘‘Any coach who tells you it doesn't matter who you play first is lying,'' Fillies' head coach Tracey Stellato said. ‘‘If you go down there and don't play well, it doesn't matter, but you want to know.''

Stellato said she has already taken a crash course on the Surge.

‘‘We have a pretty good idea of some of the things they do,'' she said.

The tournament opens at 10 a.m. Tuesday when No. 3 Central Arizona meets Moberly Area Community College of Missouri. At noon, No. 5 Western Nebraska meets No. 22 Georgia Perimeter College. Following the Panola vs. Cincinnati State game, No. 2 South Plains College of Levelland meets Gadsden State Community College of Alabama at 4. At 6:15, No. 6 Seward County Community College of Kansas faces Walters State Community College of Tennessee, and No. 1 College of Southern Idaho meets Northwest Mississippi Community College at 8:15 to close out the first day's action.

At noon Wednesday, No. 8 Southeastern Illinois College meets No. 20 Chipola college of Florida, followed by No. 7 University of Arkansas-Fort Smith vs. Lake Region State College of North Dakota at 2 to close out the first round.

A Panola win Tuesday would send the Fillies into the 8 p.m. game Wednesday against South Plains or Gadsden State, while a loss would drop the Fillies into the loser's bracket to face the loser between South Plains and Gadsden State at 10 a.m. Thursday.

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