No doubt about it, there’s plenty of respect between the four Great Plains Athletic Conference coaches who are sending their teams to Monday night’s NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship semifinals.
The GPAC’s previous Fab Four came in 2003 at the old Sioux City Auditorium. Carrie Hofstetter, who played for the Hastings team that defeated Concordia 66-60 in the semifinals and then defended their national title, 59-53 over Dakota Wesleyan, will make her semifinal coaching debut when third-seeded Hastings (25-8) faces No. 1-seeded Morningside (35-1) at 6 p.m. at the Tyson Events Center.
Jamie Sale has coached Morningside to seven semifinal berths and three national titles. Mike Power will mark his third Fab Four game as fifth-seed Briar Cliff (26-9) faces top-seeded Concordia (34-2), whose coach, Drew Olson, has one less semifinal experience.
The four colleges are NAIA powerhouses, combining for 54 national berths. Still, was it expected that four GPAC teams would contend for the crown which will be decided Tuesday night?
“Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me much,” said Sale before the Hastings/Saint Xavier quarterfinal.
“Not necessarily, no,” said Hofstetter, who won All-Division II Tournament honors three times, playing for four Hastings teams that amassed a 121-22 record.
