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March Madness crosses paths with family time for High Point coaches with mom off to work

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Family matters at High Point, enough that coach Chelsea Banbury has no problem with assistant Katie Clayman missing the Panthers’ last practice before their NCAA Tournament opener.

It’s March Madness, and Clayman got to watch her husband win his tournament debut Thursday as the High Point men upset No. 5 seed Wisconsin in Portland, Oregon. Clayman spent Friday traveling back across the country to Nashville for the 15th-seeded Panthers’ first-round game Saturday night against No. 2 seed Vanderbilt.

“There’s not any direct flights …,” Banbury said. “I’ve been in touch with her. She’s watching film. I’ve given her a task of what I want to see when she gets here and what to have broken down by the time she is, and we can go around tomorrow and shoot around with the team.”

Of 136 teams, there are 30 schools with both their men’s and women’s teams in the two tournament fields. Flynn Clayman and his wife get to juggle not only coaching duties during March Madness while managing parenting duties for 19-month old son, Quinn.

The High Point women should be done with their opener Saturday night when the High Point men tip off against No. 4 seed Arkansas with a Sweet 16 berth in the West Region on the line.

Banbury said watching the 12th-seeded High Point men pull off the biggest win in program history in the West Region was unbelievable. She watched while packing with her son jumping on the couch and yelling.

“It was awesome,” Banbury said.

The High Point women should be done with their opener Saturday night when the High Point men tip off against No. 4 seed Arkansas with a Sweet 16 berth in the West Region on the line.

Then again, Banbury had her son with her Friday at practice. At High Point, families are around for support.

“She should be there supporting Flynn,” Banbury said. “This was his first NCAA Tournament as a head coach. I couldn’t imagine what she’d be going through if she missed it. It was incredible. She was 100% where she needed. She’ll be here with us and where she needs to be tomorrow.”

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Hawkeyes are set to play Vanderbilt in a November women’s basketball game in Sioux City, Iowa

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Vanderbilt and Iowa, both ranked in the top 10 late last season, will meet in a women's basketball game early next season in northwest Iowa, the schools announced Tuesday. The neutral-site game is set for Nov. 15 at the Tyson Events Center, which is 290 miles from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Vanderbilt is 4-0 all-time against the Hawkeyes. This will be the teams' first meeting since 1997. The Commodores are expected to return national scoring leader Mikayla Blakes. She averaged 27 points per game and was Southeastern Conference player of the year. Vanderbilt was ranked as high as No. 5 and finished No. 10 with a 29-5 record after reaching the NCAA Sweet 16.
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