The No. 20 Purdue University Calumet women’s basketball team will host a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference quarterfinal game Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m. as the Peregrines begin their bid for a second-straight tournament championship.
South No. 1 seed Purdue Calumet (20-7, 12-5) will face the winner North No. 4 seed Judson (11-19) and No. 5 seed Trinity Christian (13-17), which face off in Elgin, Ill., Monday at 7:30 p.m.
Under the direction of eighth-year head coach Tom Megyesi, Purdue Calumet captured its fourth-straight 20 win season with its regular-season finale 83-73 win at Calumet College of St. Joseph Feb. 18.
Junior Jada Buggs (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Memorial) leads the Peregrines with 17.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game and sophomore Cassidy Deno (Otterbein, Ind./Benton Central) adds 16.1 points and 6.3 rebounds while leading the team with 68 makes from the 3-point line at a 40.7 percent clip.
Junior Patrice McBee (Monterey, Ind./Culver Community) adds a double-double average with 13.8 points and 10.9 rebounds while leading all of NAIA Div. II in field goal percentage (67.2) and senior Kami Graber (Nashville, Ind./Brown County) adds 13.8 points and 4.7 assists per contest.
The Peregrines recorded wins over both Judson and Trinity Christian this season, defeating JU 84-70 in Elgin, Ill., Jan. 28, and topping TCC 67-64 in Hammond Jan. 21.
If Purdue Calumet can advance, the Peregrines will travel to the highest remaining seed for a Friday matchup against the winner of Cardinal Stritch (24-4) and Olivet Nazarene (20-10), who will play Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in Milwaukee, Wis.
The CCAC Championship is set for Saturday, Feb. 28, at the highest remaining seed entering the semifinals.
CCAC regular-season champion St. Xavier (27-2) has secured the overall No. 1 seed while Stritch is No. 2. Robert Morris (21-5) is the overall three seed and the Peregrines are fourth, so in order to host the semifinal and championship rounds, all three top three seeds would have to lose their quarterfinal rounds.
Complete CCAC Women’s Tournament Schedule: Monday, February 23, 2015 Game #1: Trinity Christian (13-17) at Judson (11-19) --- 6 pm Game #2: Calumet St. Joseph (9-22) at Indiana South Bend (16-14) --- 6:30 pm Wednesday, February 25, 2015 Game #3: Winner-Game #1 at Purdue Calumet (20-7) --- 7 pm Game #4: Olivet Nazarene (20-10) at Cardinal Stritch (24-4) --- 5:30 pm Game #5: Winner-Game #2 at Saint Xavier (27-2) --- 5 pm Game #6: Robert Morris (21-5) at St. Francis (16-14) --- 5 pm Friday, February 27, 2015 (at site of highest remaining seed in the tournament)) Game #7: Winner-Game #3 vs. Winner-Game #4 --- TBA Game #8: Winner-Game #5 vs. Winner-Game #6 --- TBA Saturday, February 28, 2015 (same site as Friday) Game #9: Winner-Game #7 vs. Winner-Game #8 --- TBA