Who? The Pioneers of Sacred Heart.
What? A very good question that Sacred Heart does not seem willing to answer. Big Red came around in 2007.
Where? Fairfield, Connecticut, home to GE.
When? March 11th, at the Pitt on the campus of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut.
Why? They won the Northeast Conference tournament.
How? Monmouth briefly challenged in the second half, but Sacred Heart pulled away for a 58-48 win behind Ericka Norman's 18 points and six steals.
Partner: Georgia Tech, of the ACC.
Surprise? There wasn't a strong consensus in the preseason, with four teams including the Pioneers getting first-place votes, but Sacred Heart generally puts together a strong program, and won the regular season title.
RPI (as of 3/11): 57
SOS (as of 3/11): 168
Record: 25-7 (15-3 Northeast)
Good wins: Cal Poly?
Bad losses: Getting slaughtered by Quinnipiac.
Who's running this show? Ed Swanson, since 1990, who helped shepherd the team to Division I.
Extra, Extra! The Connecticut Post.
For the Pioneers, it starts with senior Callan Taylor, who averages 16.5 points and just shy of ten rebounds per game. Freshman guard Gabrielle Washington seems to choose her moments, with 45.7% accuracy beyond the arc. I almost missed sophomore guard Ericka Norman's six assists and three steals per game- the stat set up is odd.