The Hope women's basketball team will start its title defense at home against St. Norbert on Friday at 8 p.m..
"I think we are built for moments like this and we are built for the NCAA Tournament," Flying Dutch senior Claire Baguley said. "I think we kind of prepare for big games and we prepare for moments like this. Honestly, when it comes time, the message is stick to our principals. Stick to what we have been doing the past couple months because it's been working, and just be ourselves."
Hope has three players that score in double figures, but none that averages more than 13.4 a game.
"I think we are a highly efficient team shooting the ball, scoring the ball, I think we are a good defensive team," Flying Dutch head coach Brian Morehouse said. "But we have a lot of balance. You can't just take one player our of our system and stop us."
Hope has won nine straight NCAA Tournament games.
