The Hope College women's basketball team starts its quest for a national championship tonight when the Flying Dutch play Bethel, Minnesota in NCAA Division III Tournament first-round action at Wheaton, Illinois.

Tipoff is 5 p.m. Central., with the winner advancing to Saturday's second-round game against either host Wheaton or Wisconsin-Lutheran.

Hope is 23-4 on the season, while Bethel owns a 21-6 record.

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP

Scoring Offense — Hope 70.7, Bethel 68.0
Scoring Defense — Hope 55.4, Bethel 56.9
Field Goal % — Hope 39.5, Bethel 40.0
3-Pt Field Goal % — Hope 32.7, Bethel 28.5
Field Goal % Defense — Hope 33.5, Bethel 33.6
3-Pt Field Goal % Defense — Hope 32.9, Bethel 27.8
Free Throw % — Hope 64.0, Bethel 65.6
Rebound Margin — Hope Plus-1.4, Bethel Plus-4.4
Assists — Hope 16.0, Bethel 13.0
Steals — Hope 12.8, Bethel 9.7
Turnover Margin — Hope Plus-6.0, Bethel Plus-2.2

GAME NOTES

The Flying Dutch are tipping off their 16th NCAA Division III Tournament appearance all-time. Hope is making its third consecutive postseason trip and ninth in 10 seasons. The Flying Dutch own a 31-13 record in NCAA Tournament games, including 10-5 in first-round games. Hope has won six consecutive postseason openers. The Flying Dutch's last first-round loss came to Denison, Ohio 82-66 in 2007. 

Hope is one of six schools with multiple national titles in women's basketball. The Flying Dutch won in 2006 and 1990. Washington-St. Louis leads with five. Capital Ohio, DePauw Indiana, Elizabethtown Pennsylvania and Wisconsin-Stevens Point also have two apiece.

Both Hope and Bethel received at-large berths to the NCAA Tournament. The Flying Dutch finished runner-up in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association regular-season and tournament to unbeaten Calvin. The Royals came in second in both the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season and tournament to unbeaten St. Thomas, Minnesota. This is Bethel's fifth NCAA Tournament appearance.

All four of Hope's losses this season have come to teams in the NCAA Tournament. The Flying Dutch lost three times to Calvin and once to Wheaton, Illinois.

Hope coach Brian Morehouse is the Flying Dutch's winningest coach. He has a record of 477-75 over 19 seasons — an 86.1 win percentage that ranks among the nation's elite among active coaches.

Hope has gone to the NCAA Division III tourney 14 times during Brian Morehouse's tenure. The Flying Dutch have reached the 20-win mark 17 times in a row during his tenure, won a national title in 2006, played in two Final Fours and earned 12 MIAA championships. 

Senior center Rebekah Llorens and junior forward Maura McAfee have been named to the All-MIAA First Team for the 2014-15 season. It it McAfee's second such honor and Llorens' first.

Brittany Berry became Hope's single-season and career leader in 3-pointers made this season. The senior guard has 219 over four seasons, including a record-setting 75 this season. She's tied for third in a single season with 65 in 2012-13 and fifth with 62 in 2013-14.

Maura McAfee needs 83 points to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career. The junior is averaging a career-high 14.3 points per game this season and 10.5 for her career.

Maura McAfee is closing in on the single-season school record with 287 rebounds. She needs four to pass Amanda Kerkstra's mark of 290 from the 2002-03 season. McAfee passed Kristin Carlson's second-place total of 284 from 1993-94 and McAfee's third-place total of 280 from last season on Saturday. McAfee ranks sixth all-time with 725 career rebounds. She needs 61 more to pass Carrie Snikkers (2007-10) for fifth place.