Coach Zareth Gray's Clarke College women's basketball team will open Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament play tonight (Thursday) in Des Moines, Iowa. The seventh-seeded Crusaders will face No. 2 seed Grand View University at 7 p.m. in quarterfinal action.

Clarke is 6-24 overall, while the host Vikings enter the third meeting between the two squads this winter with a 23-7 mark.

Grand View swept a pair of regular-season matchups with Clarke this winter, winning 79-55 in Dubuque and 88-51 in Des Moines.

The winner of tonight's matchup will face either third-seeded Mount Mercy (19-11) or No. 6 seed Waldorf College (10-19) in one of Saturday's 2 p.m. semifinal matchups.

The MCC Tournament championship contest is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday, March 1.

Iowa Wesleyan College (22-7) is the tournament's top seed.

-CRUSADERS-