The ASC is responding to the difficult situation facing its members by asking the Division III championships committee chairs to put more weight on seedings, and less on savings, when selecting sectional hosting sites during the tournament.

In one sense, there isn’t a lot the ASC can do to control this trend. They can’t change their geographic isolation in Division III. They probably can’t single-handedly change the committee’s frugality. But there is one thing they do – they can win more of the games they do play, even when they are on the road.

The Miss College men got a tough draw by traveling to the defending champs, so I can’t pick on them. But the HPU women missed a huge chance to make a statement about conference strength.

Instead of hosting as the seeds suggested they should, the Yellow Jackets headed to Iowa where Luther hosted the sectional. HPU could’ve showed the committee the error of their ways by winning the sectional. Even winning one of two games would’ve helped their argument. Instead they played one of the worst games in the sectional semis that I’ve ever seen.

The statistics are brutal but they don’t tell the full horror story. The Yellow Jackets looked frustrated and out-of-sorts through most of the second half. They forced shots in hopes of drawing fouls that weren’t called all game, pulled back on open fast breaks and failed to foul when they needed to after a missed attempt to tie the game.

“Well, things would’ve been different had HPU hosted instead of getting stuck on the road.”

Maybe. But their opponent, Puget Sound, had an equally long trip and still found a way to win. Plus the small crowd made for a very neutral environment. It’s not like HPU had to play in front of thousands of blue-painted, screaming Luther fans. That was left to Wash U, who won the sectional.

I’m not trying to kill Howard Payne. They have a ton of talent. Maybe the Yellow Jackets just had “one of those days” on the wrong day. And this conference has made big strides in its depth.

But for the ASC women to make a stronger case for hosting sectionals, they’ll need to do better than the one-win performance the confernece had in this year’s tournament. Asking is fine, but it’s even more persuasive when you win.