Coon Rapids, Minn. - 
 

The Northland Community & Technical College's women's basketball program is set to compete in the NJCAA Region XIIIB Tournament Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 25-26 at Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Coon Rapids. 
The Pioneers finished the 2022-23 regular season on a six-game winning streak. The Pioneers are 13-9 overall and they concluded MCAC North play with a 7-1 record that was good enough for a share of the conference title with Central Lakes. 
A coin toss was used to break the tie for seeding purposes. Northland won the toss to earn the number one seed in the Region XIIIB Tournament, while Central Lakes received the number two seed in the Region XIIIA tournament. 
The Pioneers play tournament-host Anoka-Ramsey (19-9, 8-7) at 6 p.m. Saturday. The Golden Rams finished the regular season in a tie with Western Tech for the fourth and final playoff spot from the MCAC South. The Golden Rams defeated the Cavaliers 67-58 in a play-in game Tuesday night in Rochester. 
The Pioneers and Golden Rams have met three times this season, with the Golden Rams holding a 2-1 series advantage. The Golden Rams won by scores of 92-47  and 66-48 when the teams met twice in a one-week span between Nov. 27 and Dec. 3. 
The Pioneers were shorthanded due to illness in both of the first two meetings but they returned to full strength by the time the teams met again on New Year's Eve in Brainerd. The Pioneers claimed the third meeting 72-57. 
The other Region XIIIB semifinal game pits MCAC South runner-up Minnesota West against MCAC North third-place finisher Minnesota North College - Rainy River at 8 p.m. 
The Pioneers are familiar with both potential opponents if they advance to the championship game. They dropped a 72-67 decision at home against Minnesota West on Dec. 9 and swept the season series against Minnesota North-Rainy River, defeating the Voyagers 95-39 Jan. 21 in International Falls, and 94-54, Feb. 18 at home.  
The Region XIIIB championship game will be held Sunday, Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. 

Region XIIIB
• Saturday, Feb. 25, semifinals - N1 Northland (13-9) vs. S4 Anoka-Ramsey (18-9) 6 p.m.; S2 Minnesota West (26-3) vs. N3 Minnesota North-Rainy River (9-17) 8 p.m. 
• Sunday, Feb. 26, championship - 5 p.m.
(Games will start 20 minutes after the completion of the previous game) 

Region XIIIA
• Saturday, Feb. 25, semifinals - S1 Rochester Community & Technical Collge (23-0) vs. N4 Minnesota North-Itasca (2-22) 10 a.m.; N2 Central Lakes College (14-7) vs. S3 Riverland noon (19-5). 
• Sunday, Feb. 26, championship - noon. 
(Games will start 20 minutes after the completion of the previous game) 

Live stream
All rounds of both the Region XIIIA and Region XIIIB women's tournaments will be streamed on https://nspn.tv/MSHSL/StreamingSchedule