The field for the NCAA Division II women’s basketball tournament was announced Sunday night, and 13-1 Gannon was left out of the bracket.

Normally, 64 teams would be included in the field, but this year it was reduced to 48 teams.

Gannon wasn’t included in the tournament, but you have to imagine that it was one of the more difficult teams to leave out.

A 13-1 regular season concluded Saturday for the Knights, as they did nearly everything in their power to earn a berth in the tournament. Their only loss came to Daemen, 70-68, whom the Knights also beat, 65-56, on the road. Daemen is a No. 2 seed in the tournament’s East Region with a 12-2 record.

Gannon also beat another team that was included in the field in Roberts Wesleyan, 76-48. Roberts Wesleyan got in as a five-seed with a 10-6 record.

It is hard to look at the inclusion of those two teams and say Gannon didn’t deserve to get in. Gannon got snubbed.

I would like to hear the reasoning from the committee for leaving Gannon out. The team went 1-1 against Daemen, which got a two-seed, and the Knights had a better record than the Wildcats. Gannon beat Roberts Wesleyan badly, yet Roberts Wesleyan got in as a five-seed with five more losses and three fewer wins.

That doesn’t make much sense.

Gannon played most of the season without its best player, Tori Obenrader, and still managed to dominate almost everyone it played. The Knights beat their biggest rival, Mercyhurst, three times.

How does Daemen get a two-seed with a 12-2 record, but Gannon gets snubbed with a 13-1 record? What justifies including other teams with records of 16-8 and 16-6 over Gannon in the Atlantic region?

Gannon should’ve been included in the Atlantic region, where they were ranked No. 6 in the last rankings.

I feel bad for the team. The players and coaches worked extremely hard and deserved a spot in the tournament.

The committee dropped the ball on this one. Gannon got snubbed, big-time.

ALEX PEPKE
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