Okay, so maybe I got distracted by the support role I played in babysitting the itty-bitty niece and nephew, or the 24hr flu bug that hung around for a week, or the fact that it's SPRING and BIRDS are coming BACK!!!! but, holy kamole, Division-II has made it all the way to the Elite Eight!

So, some serious catching up to do with the goings on in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Match-up 1 (3/23)
The "where the heck did they come from and still undefeated (36-0)" Gannon Lady Knights have blown through their opponents by 28pts, 20pts and 17pts.

John Dudley of DoErie.com writes about the #1 team that clearly is looking to ruin women's basketball: Perfect play sums up perfect season for Gannon

The play itself was inconsequential. It produced the 72nd, 73rd and 74th points in a game in which Gannon needed only 61.

It was the cigar you smoke after you've smoked the victory cigar. It was the second layer of icing on a double chocolate cake.

And yet, if you went looking through reels of game film for the one sequence that epitomizes Gannon's still-perfect basketball season, this was it.

"That was my favorite play," Lady Knights coach Cleve Wright said after his team dispatched Seton Hill 80-60 in Saturday's Atlantic Region semifinals at Hammermill Center.

Savvy. Guts. Unselfishness.

They'll face unranked Tusculum (TN) (22-9), who's had some tighter games because, well, they've had to defeat a couple of ranked teams on their way to the program's first Elite Eight. The Pioneers, who had a 70-63 come-from-behind win over Lander University were sent off with shamrocks,

Match-up 2 (3/23):
Emporia State (24-5) earned a trip to Missouri by holding Northeastern State to .270 shooting from the field and romping to a 76-45 victory. The Lady Hornets are headed to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the first time since 2006.

Their opponent will be Michigan Tech (3o-2), who took down traditional powerhouse Drury, 84-68, in front of 3,131 fans—the largest crowd to witness a women’s basketball game at the SDC Gym.

Match-up 3 (3/23):

Looks to be a doozy: Arkansas Tech (30-1) v. Franklin Pierce (29-2).

#4 Arkansas Tech beat Delta State 73-62 to win the South Regional and earned their third South Regional Championship in school history and first trip to the Elite Eight since 1999. That year the Golden Suns were national runners-up.

You'll recall (or you would, if our archives were archiving) their opponent, #2 Franklin Pierce (aka the Ravens from NH) went to the Finals last year under coach Mark Swasey, where they fell to Minnesota-Mankato, 103-94.

He moved on/over to California (PA) (which made it to the Sweet Sixteen) and #2 FPU has just kept rolling behind Steve Hancock and the Olympian-to-be Johannah Leedham (if the Brits get a women's basketball team in 2012).

“I don’t think there’s anybody that loves the game more than her,” said Hancock.

Leedham’s method for unwinding after games? More basketball.

“I just go lie in bed and watch more basketball,” the intense 5-foot-11 Leedham said with a thick British accent. “If I’m not playing it, I’m watching it.”

It’s that passion for the sport that has gotten Leedham to her other-worldly level. She’s scored an NCAA Division II-record 3,003 career points, is the two-time defending D-II player of the year and ranks eighth all-time in steals.

Match-up 4:
Fort-Lewis, CO (31-3) v. Seattle Pacific (24-3).

I see SPU finally took down traditional rival Alaska-Anchorage... I'm sure that was sweet. Jerry Brewer of the Seattle Times writes of Seattle Pacific's head coach Julie van Beek:

A raspy voice alludes to van Beek's success. All good coaches sound this way in March, and certainly, she has earned the honor of strained vocal cords. For the first time in her five-year tenure, the Falcons have won an NCAA Division II West Regional title. They have advanced to the Elite Eight, which on this level is as prestigious as a Final Four.

It's a validating moment for the coach who took over for the wildly successful Gordy Presnell five years ago and fell one game short of this glory in three of her first four seasons. It's further proof that a new method works and that this program is as strong as ever. And it's the ultimate reason to yak and yuk it up about an underappreciated tale of local March Madness.

Seattle Pacific will go up against a Fort Lewis College team who, in front of a record house of 1,875 raucous fans, rallied from a six-point second half deficit to knock off Concordia-St. Paul 73-64. The win earned them the first trip to the Elite Eight in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference women's history.

TELEVISION ALERT:

Quarterfinal games can be viewed on NCAA.com free of charge.

Final Four matchups will be on ESPNU at 5 and 7 p.m. Wednesday, and the final will be broadcast on ESPN2 at 6 p.m. Friday.