Photo by Larry Radloff, d3photography.com

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The Division III women's basketball committee is led by the former men's basketball committee chair, and it seems this committee got the best of the bargain this year, as we followed a questionable men's bracket with a reasonable women's bracket.

If you aren't from Hope. Or Illinois Wesleyan.

Check it out:

Printable bracket

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Hope, the No. 2 team in the last published NCAA Great Lakes regional ranking, got sent to a first-round "pod" that had the No. 2 team from the last Central Region rankings, Carthage, forcing a potentially huge second-round matchup.

Illinois Wesleyan didn't get in the field at all, despite a .610 strength of schedule, by our calculations, and a 5-5 record vs. regionally ranked opponents.

There are other places in the bracket where simple winning percentage seemed to win out over strength of schedule as well. Eastern Mennonite's gaudy record, with a strength of schedule of just over .500, was enough to get the Royals in the field.