• DMACC takes an 18-11 record into the tournament
• Bears are the tournament's No. 5 seed
• NIACC is the No. 4 seed

The DMACC women's basketball team will face North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) in the quarterfinals of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Region XI Basketball Championship at 5:30 p.m. March 8 at Mason City.

DMACC, seeded fifth, takes an 18-11 record into the tournament, including a 9-7 mark in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC). NICAA, seeded fourth, also finished conference play at 9-7 and is also 18-11 overall.

The two teams split their regular season series. NIACC came away with a 65-48 win Dec. 3 at Mason City and the Bears were victorious by a 71-63 score Jan. 25 inside the DMACC gymnasium.

Freshmen Jaden Ainley of Clear Lake and Reanna Hutchinson of Eau Claire, Wis., lead the Bears in scoring with 14.1 and 10.1 averages respectively. Ainley, sophomore Reagan Franzen of Polk City and Covid-19 sophomore (CoSO) Camry Jones of Okoboji are the Bears' top rebounders, each averaging just more than five rebounds a game.

DMACC is averaging 69.8 points a game and holding opponents to 60.6 points a game. The Bears are shooting 42 percent from the field, including 27 percent from three-point range. The are averaging 64 percent at the free throw line. DMACC is pulling down 38 rebounds a game and holding opponents to 31 rebounds a game.

NIACC is similar to DMACC, averaging 70 points a game and allowing 55 points a game. The Trojans are shooting 40 percent from the field, 28 percent from three-point range and 70 percent from the free throw line. They are averaging 44 rebounds a game and allowing 31 rebounds a game.

Kameron Jones is NIACC's top scorer with a 13-point average and Kourtney Manning and Jackie Pippett are averaging just more than 10 points a game.

The DMACC-NIACC winner will play top-seeded Kirkwood Community College (KCC) March 11 at the home of the highest seeded team. Eighth-seeded Ellsworth Community College (ECC) and No. 9 Marshalltown will meet in a play-in game March 5 at Iowa Falls and that winner will play KCC in the quarterfinals.

The championship game will be played March 12 at the home of the highest seeded team.