NAIA Women's Hoops: Field of 32 Includes Mountaineers, Raiders
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) released the qualifiers for the 17th Annual NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship. The tournament, which includes Cascade Conference members Eastern Oregon and Southern Oregon, will be held at the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena in Sioux City, Iowa March 12-18.
This year's 32-team field includes 23 automatic qualifiers -- including Eastern Oregon and Southern Oregon of the Cascade Collegiate Conference -- and nine at-large bids. The at-large berths are selected using the final regular-season rating released on Feb. 27th.
The 23 automatic qualifiers include: Aquinas (Mich.), Benedictine (Kan.), Berea (Ky.), Bethel (Ind.), Black Hills (S.D.), Cardinal Stritch (Wis.), Daemen (N.Y.), Eastern Oregon, Holy Names (Calif.), King (Tenn.), Maine at Fort Kent, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), Morningside (Iowa), Northwestern (Iowa), Northwood (Fla.), Ohio Dominican, Ozarks (Mo.), Shawnee State (Ohio), Southern Oregon, Southwestern (Kan.), Saint Ambrose (Iowa), Sterling (Kan.) and Union (Ky.).
Concordia (Neb.), Cornerstone (Mich.), Dakota State (S.D.), Davenport (Mich.), Hastings (Neb.), Indiana Wesleyan, Minot (N.D.), Rio Grande (Ohio) and William Jewell (Mo.) received an at-large bid into the tournament.
The official tournament bracket will be released by 5 p.m. (CST) on Wednesday, March 5th.
NAIA National Tournament
Team (Overall, Conference)
Qualification Appearances
Record
Titles
Aquinas (Mich.) (25-7, 9-5)
Wolverine-Hoosier Champion
4
3-4
0
Benedictine (Kan.) (28-5, 18-2)
Heart of America Regular Season Champion
4
3-4
0
Berea (Ky.) (20-11, 5-4)
Kentucky Intercollegiate Champion
2
0-2
0
Bethel (Ind.) (29-3, 15-1)
Mid-Central Conference Champion
4
6-4
0
Black Hills (S.D.) (26-5, 11-3)
Dakota Athletic Conference Champion
4
6-4
0
Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) (26-4, 10-0)
Chicagoland Conference Champion
11
5-11
0
Concordia (Neb.) (24-6, 13-6)
At-Large #4
7
9-7
0
Cornerstone (Mich.) (24-8, 13-1)
At-Large #6
5
7-5
0
Daemen (N.Y.) (22-7, 13-1)
American Mideast Division Champion
4
0-4
0
Dakota State (S.D.) (20-10, 11-3)
At-Large #3
5
5-5
0
Davenport (Mich.) (27-5, 13-1)
At-Large #2
3
0-3
0
Eastern Oregon (24-5, 17-3)
Cascade Regular Season Champion
3
0-3
0
Hastings (Neb.) (27-5, 15-3)
At-Large #1
9
22-6
3
Holy Names (Calif.) (19-13, 14-2)
California Pacific Conference Champion
8
5-8
0
Indiana Wesleyan (28-5, 12-4)
At-Large #5
5
10-4
1
King (Tenn.) (21-11, 15-3)
Appalachian Regular Season Champion
1
0-1
0
Maine at Fort Kent (17-10, 9-2)
Sunrise Conference Champion
2
0-2
0
MidAmerica Nazarene (24-10, 15-5)
Heart of America Tournament Champion
3
3-3
0
Minot (N.D.) (19-10, 10-4)
At-Large #9
4
2-4
0
Morningside (Iowa) (30-3, 18-0)
GPAC Regular Season Champion
5
12-3
2
Northwestern (Iowa) (30-2, 17-1)
GPAC Tournament Champion
6
16-5
1
Northwood (Fla.) (23-7, 9-3)
Florida Sun Conference Champion
0
Ohio Dominican (22-9, 9-5)
American Mideast Tournament Champion
4
2-4
0
Ozarks (Mo.) (31-1, 12-0)
Midlands Conference Champion
13
16-13
0
Rio Grande (Ohio) (23-7) (9-5)
At-Large #8
0
Shawnee St. (Ohio) (27-2, 13-1)
American Mideast Division Champion
12
17-11
1
Southern Oregon (29-4, 17-3)
Cascade Tournament Champion
5
5-5
0
Southwestern (Kan.) (23-8, 14-4)
Kansas Collegiate Conference Runner-Up
1
1-1
0
Saint Ambrose (Iowa) (28-5, 14-2)
Midwest Conference Champion
7
5-7
0
Sterling (Kan.) (23-7, 17-1)
Kansas Collegiate Conference Champion
11
13-11
0
Union (Ky.) (25-9, 15-3)
Appalachian Tournament Champion
2
0-2
0
William Jewell (Mo.) (22-9, 15-6)
At-Large #7
4
2-4
0