LEWISBURG — Kesha Champion was instrumental in helping Bucknell win its second Patriot League tournament title and qualify for the NCAA tournament.
A trip home is her reward.
The Chesapeake, Va., native will be making an unexpected trip home this weekend when No. 16 seed Bucknell (16-15) plays No. 1 seed North Carolina (30-2) in the opening round of the NCAA tournament’s New Orleans bracket on Easter Sunday at noon.
The game will be played at Old Dominion University’s Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk — seven minutes from Chesapeake. It will be televised regionally on ESPN2.
Champion, a senior captain, was the PL tournament MVP after leading the Bison to a 57-45 victory at Holy Cross in last Wednesday’s championship game.
“It still hasn’t quite hit me yet,” junior guard Amanda Brown admitted.
Bucknell and North Carolina, the four-time Atlantic Coast Conference champion, have never met. The Bison did play ACC rival Duke in December, losing 92-49.
Bucknell entered the eight-team Patriot League tournament as a fifth seed after a disappointing regular season.
The Bison earned the title and automatic NCAA tournament bid by winning in overtime at Army on Brown’s last-second shot, knocking off top-seeded American in the semifinals and beating 11-time champion Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., in the final. “There was no pressure coming in as a five seed,” Brown added. “After Senior Night, we had a lot of momentum, a lot of energy. And we weren’t going to have another episode like last year.”
Top-seeded Bucknell lost in the first round of the 2007 PL tournament to eighth-seeded Colgate.
Bucknell lost 80-56 to host Baylor in its first NCAA tournament appearance in 2002.
“We’ve had a couple of really good practices so far,” Bison coach Kathy Fedorjaka said. “I think we’re all excited to go down there and play well.”
Sunday’s winner plays either Georgia or Iowa in Tuesday’s second round.
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Bucknell will play North Carolina in NCAA opener
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