In 2011, the Bearcat basketball team, led by All-American Brittany Sedlock, became the first team in school history to qualify for the NCAA Division-III postseason since the school made the move from the NAIA. Ranked among the top-20 nationally throughout the season, the Bearcats were defeated in their opening-round National Tournament game by Greensboro College. The women's basketball team overcame a major tragedy during the 2010-11 season with the Christmas Day 2010 death of Kristen Zawacki (1958-2010), the lone women's basketball coach in the program's 25-year history. Zawacki, also the school's associate athletic director, won over 500 games in her career. She was succeeded by assistant coach Jimmy Petruska, who was named interim coach immediately following her death, before being officially named the team's head coach on April 27, 2011. During his eight-year tenure, Petruska's teams have qualified for the NCAA Division III playoffs three times, highlighted by a 2018-19 season in which the Bearcats finished 23-5 overall and 15-1 in conference to earn their first PAC title.