Central Missouri women win NCAA regional title; Northwest men seeking Elite Eight too

The Central Missouri and Drury women’s basketball teams are headed to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. The Northwest Missouri and Truman State men have their shot at regional championships Tuesday night.

The Jennies (22-4) captured their eighth Elite Eight berth and first since 2018 on Monday night, beating Nebraska-Kearney 67-57 in the Central Regional championship game in Warrensburg.

Brooke Littrell scored 17 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for Central Missouri and was chosen most outstanding player of the regional.

The second-ranked Panthers (22-1) won the Midwest Regional title on Monday night in Springfield, beating Ashland (Ohio) 88-69. Drury had lost to Ashland in the 2017 and 2018 national tournaments.

Paige Robinson, the most outstanding player of the regional, scored 21 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.

The 2021 women’s Elite Eight will be played March 23-26 in Columbus, Ohio. Pairings and game times will be announced this week.

Men’s Elite Eight spots on the line Tuesday night

The Northwest Missouri Bearcats will play top seeded and Central Regional host Northern State for an Elite Eight spot at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Northwest avenged a MIAA title game loss to Washburn by blowing out the Ichabods 85-44 on Sunday night.

The top-seeded Truman State men advanced to the Midwest Regional finals Tuesday night in Evansville, Indiana against No. 2 seed Michigan Tech. The Bulldogs beat No. 5 seed Ashland 82-63 on Sunday night.

The 2021 men’s Elite Eight will be played March 24-27 in Evansville. Pairings and game times will be announced this week.