Opportunities and history.
Both will be in front of the Transylvania women's basketball team as it enters the Division III semifinals this week in Columbus, Ohio.
What's at stake for the Pioneers? A chance at repeating as national champions and becoming only the third team in Division III women's basketball history to repeat with undefeated records. Amherst did so in in 2017 and 2018, while Washington University in St. Louis' historic run of four straight Division III titles from 1998-2001 included a pair of unbeaten seasons in 1999 and 2000. The Pioneers (31-0) will face another undefeated squad, New York University (29-0), in the semifinals Thursday. Both are looking to continue a Division III women's basketball trend, as seven of the last eight champions finished with an unbeaten record.
The Pioneers boast the NCAA's longest active winning streak, regardless of division, sport or gender, at 64 games, dating back to March 2022. If all goes to plan this weekend, the Pioneers next season would have a chance to break the Division III mark for consecutive wins set by WashU with 81.
Transylvania's trip to Columbus for the semifinals also marks a homecoming of sorts for head coach Juli Fulks, whose recent quarterfinal win marked the 400th of her career. Capital, serving as the host school of the semifinals and final, is Fulks' alma mater, and she helped take the team to the Division III semifinal in 1997.
"Blessed. Blessed and grateful when you get to do this," Fulks said after her 400th win. "We've had a team that's put up a lot of wins together."
New York University
After getting knocked out in the quarterfinals the previous two seasons, New York University's women broke through for their first semifinal appearance since 2007. Now, the Violets get a chance at revenge.
The Violets (29-0), winners of 43 of their last 44, lost in the quarterfinals last year to Transylvania, which they will face Thursday in this year's semifinals. The Violets' 29 straight wins ties a program record. The last time they won 29 in a season: 1997, when the Violets won their first and only Division III championship. Head coach Meg Barber, a New York University alum who ranks No. 10 on the program's all-time scoring list, has led her alma mater to four NCAA tournaments on the sidelines.
Wartburg
Getting Wartburg women's basketball to the Division III semifinals is a family tradition for senior Jaedon Murphy, the leading scorer for the team that will face Smith on Thursday. Murphy's twin sisters, Miranda and Megan, were on the 2016 and 2018 teams that made the semifinals. Her other sister, Riley, was also on the 2018 team.
The family connections go deeper than that, too. Murphy earned MVP honors in the American Rivers Conference, matching an honor her father, Mike, earned for Wartburg. It marked the first time a Wartburg father-daughter duo has earned conference MVP honors in the same sport.
Smith
For the second season in a row, Smith punched a ticket to the Division III semifinals. The Pioneers, who will face Wartburg on Thursday, accomplished this feat despite graduating six players from last year's team. Smith's ascension as a power in Division III stretches beyond the last two seasons, as the Pioneers own a 132-19 record since the 2018-19 season.
An all-women's school, Smith is acknowledged as the birthplace for women's basketball. Senda Berenson Abbott, known as the "mother of women's basketball," introduced the sport to Smith in 1893 as the director of the physical education department at Smith.
