CCC Sends Three Teams to NAIA Women’s Basketball Tournament

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [Video Announcement | 1^st & 2^nd Round Schedule Page | Bracket] The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially announced the teams and bracket for the 2023 NAIA Women’s Basketball National Championship Opening Round. The 64-team bracket will begin with the first and second rounds at host sites across the country on March 7-8.

The same three Cascade Collegiate Conference teams earned spots in the national tournament as last year. No. 10-ranked Lewis-Clark State College picked up the CCC’s first automatic bid by winning the co-regular-season title coin flip, while Eastern Oregon University grabbed the second automatic qualifier after claiming the CCC Women’s Basketball Tournament Championship, presented by U.S. Bank. Southern Oregon University grabbed an at-large bid to round out the conference trio.
In the opening round, Lewis-Clark State will host Simpson University, while Eastern Oregon will head to Wichita, Kan., to face University of Saint Mary. With all three teams in different quadrants, Southern Oregon will start in Santa Barbara, Calif., to take on Wayland Baptist University.
 
The 2023 NAIA second round winners will meet up in Sioux City, Iowa, at the NAIA National Championship final site presented by Bomgaars and Sterling. The 42^nd annual championship takes place at the Tyson Events Center from March 13-18.
 
This year’s first round field includes 38 automatic qualifiers and 26 at-large selections. Automatic berths were given to teams that either won their respective conference tournament title, regular-season championship, finished runner-up at the conference tournament, were the third regular-season finisher. The at-large bids were determined by the Women’s Basketball National Selection Committee. This committee consists of one representative from each geographical area and six at-large members consisting of coaches and administrators from around the country. The committee evaluated teams throughout the year on various criteria.
 
All first and second round games will be streamed by the host and may be produced on various platforms.  
The NAIA Network – the association’s official video streaming home – will broadcast all 1Round of 16, quarterfinal and semifinal games live in Sioux City at the 2023 NAIA Women’s Basketball National Championship final site. Single-day passes can be purchased for $9.95, while an all-championship tournament package is available at $34.95. For more information and to pre-register, CLICK HERE
Qualifier Highlights

• Campbellsville (Ky.) holds the largest number of appearances in the tournament field with 31. Wayland Baptist (Texas) is close behind with 30 appearances.
• Seven teams are qualifying for the first time in 2023: Grace (Ind.), Oakland City (Ind.), Point (Ga.), Simpson (Calif.), Southwestern Christian (Okla.), St. Mary (Kan.) and Texas A&M Texarkana.
• Brewton-Parker (Ga.) and Missouri Baptist are qualifying after a drought of 17 years since last qualifying in 2006.
• The Great Plains Athletic Conference qualified the highest number of conference teams with a total of seven. The Mid-South and Sooner Conferences both followed with six conference teams apiece.
• There were seven qualifying teams that are from Iowa and Indiana. While six qualifying teams come from California.
• Forty-one teams in the 2023 tournament field also qualified for the 2022 championship.
• There are nine teams in the tournament field that have 20 or more appearances: Campbellsville (Ky.), Wayland Baptist (Texas), Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.), Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), Vanguard (Calif.), Concordia (Neb.), Morningside (Iowa), Sterling (Kan.), Indiana Wesleyan.
• Ten teams in the tournament field have won a title: Northwestern (Iowa), Morningside (Iowa), Indiana Wesleyan, Westmont (Calif.), Marian (Ind.), Concordia (Neb.), MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), Montana Western, Thomas More (Ky.), Vanguard (Calif.)
• Northwestern (Iowa) boasts the highest number of championship wins with five. Morningside (Iowa) follows with four of its own.
• The only teams in the 2022 field to win back-to-back titles are: Northwestern (Iowa) (3, 2010-12), Morningside (Iowa) (2, 2004-05) and Marian (Ind.) (2, 2016-17)
• The 2022 champion, Thomas More (Ky.), returns to the championship field along with 2021 champion Westmont (Calif.).