NAIA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Ashland, Ore. | Lithia Motors Pavilion
Friday's Games (Round of 64)
5:30 p.m. – (2) Southern Oregon vs. (15) UC Merced
7:30 p.m. – (7) Wayland Baptist (Texas) vs. (10) Carroll (Mont.)
Saturday's Game (Round of 32)
5 p.m. – TBD

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ASHLAND – Southern Oregon enters the 44th annual NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship as the only team in the field of 64 with an unbeaten record. No one has to remind the Raiders how little that matters with some tournament-tested teams on their way to Lithia Motors Pavilion for the first and second rounds.

As the No. 2 seed in the Cramer Quadrant, the Raiders (31-0) are attempting to get over the hump and reach the 16-team final site for the first time since the tournament took on its current format in 2022, having been stopped in the Round of 32 each of the last three seasons. They have a chance to do it at home for the second year in a row, opening against No. 15 seed UC Merced (17-8) at 5:30 p.m. Friday in a first-round matchup.

No. 7 seed Wayland Baptist (Texas) (25-4) and No. 10 seed Carroll (Mont.) (19-11) follow at 7:30 p.m. in the other first-round affair. The winners meet in the second round at 5 p.m. Saturday, and last team standing gets a trip to Sioux City, Iowa, for the rest of the tournament March 20-25.

An overview of the teams headed to Ashland follows:

No. 2 SOUTHERN OREGON (31-0)
Ashland, Ore. | Cascade Collegiate Conference (22-0, 1st)
Final NAIA Top 25: No. 2
Offensive Rating: 4th (109 points/100 possessions)
Defensive Rating: 6th (75 points allowed/100 poss.)
Net Rating: 1st (+34 points/100 poss.)
Last 10 Games: 10-0

• The Raiders are making their 16th all-time national postseason appearance and fourth in a row under three-time CCC Coach of the Year Carlotta Kloppenburg-Pruitt. They've been on both sides of mind-boggling comebacks each of the last two years: In the 2023 first round they trailed Wayland Baptist by 29 points before rallying for a 68-66 win, and in the 2024 second round they led Menlo by 20 entering the fourth quarter of a 62-58 loss.
• Nine players on the roster have logged significant NAIA Tournament minutes in previous years. Morgan Baird, the CCC Player of the Year, got hers two years ago with Rocky Mountain. In her debut season at SOU, Baird is the first Raider in eight years to average at least 15 points (15.4) on 50% shooting or better (58.3). Alongside her in the frontcourt, Clara Robbins has shot 61% in six career tournament games and averaged 12.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 3.0 steals in last year's.
• As shown in the CCC Tournament – where they gave up 46.3 points per game and held Lewis-Clark State to a season-low 49 in the final – defense remains the Raiders' calling card. They have the CCC Defensive Player of the Year in Emma Schmerbach, the team's all-time blocks leader in Robbins, and a three-time CCC Defensive Player of the Week in Meghan McIntyre. They've allowed 70 points once in the last two seasons, and opponents have shot 40% or better just eight times this season.
• The Raider bench is outscoring opponents' 26.6 to 12.7 on average. CCC Sixth Woman of the Year Eliza DiGiulio leads that unit at 8.8 per game, but Mallory Williams starred in the CCC Tournament by going 7-of-10 from 3. She matched a career-high with four triples in the championship.
• In eight postseason games with the Raiders, Meghan McIntyre owns averages of 14.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.1 steals. The two-time all-conference selection was third in assists (4.1) and fifth in steals (2.4) among CCC players this season, adding 10.8 points.
• SOU's 3-point mark of 38.4% is the third-best in the NAIA. The team's top long-range shooter, Bridgette McIntyre, has the second-highest clip in the country (43.6%) among those who have made at least 80 3-pointers. She went 16-of-33 over her last five games, averaging 13 points in that span.
• Under Kloppenburg-Pruitt, the Raiders are 56-5 at home.
• Since the tournament took on its current 64-team form in 2022, No. 2 seeds have gone 12-0 in first-round games and 10-2 in the second round. Two No. 2 seeds went out in the second round last year, but the other two went on to reach the national semifinals. Only one other school, Central Methodist (Mo.), has entered the tournament undefeated in this period, doing so in 2023 before reaching the semifinals.

No. 15 UC MERCED (17-8)
Merced, Calif. | California Pacific Conference (10-0, 1st)
Final NAIA Top 25: Not ranked
Offensive Rating: 96th (93 points/100 possessions)
Defensive Rating: 15th (78 points allowed/100 poss.)
Net Rating: 43rd (+15 points/100 poss.)
Last 10 Games: 10-0

• Cal Pac Player of the Year Nicole Lukito, a 6-foot sophomore, averages 16.5 points on 54% shooting and the second-most rebounds (14.8) in the country. She has registered double-doubles in 21 of 25 outings, finished with 10 and 16 against SOU, and notched the team's first-ever triple-double with 10 assists earlier this year.
• The Bobcats boast two more all-conference selections in sophomore guard Sarina Nagra (13.8 points, 45-of-124 3FG) and senior forward Megan Williams (6.9 points, 56% FG). They're limiting opponents to 35% shooting as a team.
• Third-year coach Kellie Bernard has guided Merced to a program-record 14 consecutive wins with a roster that includes just one senior. The last of those, 60-56 over La Sierra in the Cal Pac Tournament championship, garnered the automatic tourney bid. Lukito broke a tie with four free throws in the last 42 seconds.
• SOU is 6-0 against the Bobcats since the series started a decade ago. The teams met Nov. 16 in Klamath Falls, where the Raiders were up 15 after one quarter and won 76-52 behind Morgan Baird's 18 points.
• The Bobcats – who are departing for the NCAA Division II level next season – are making their fifth national tournament appearance and first since 2022. They've never before won an NAIA playoff game.

No. 7 WAYLAND BAPTIST (25-4)
Plainview, Texas | Sooner Athletic Conference (21-3, 2nd)
Final NAIA Top 25: No. 20
Offensive Rating: 2nd (111 points/100 possessions)
Defensive Rating: 112th (88 points allowed/100 poss.)
Net Rating: 17th (+22 points/100 poss.)
Last 10 Games: 8-2

• The Flying Queens are tournament regulars, in the field for the 12th consecutive season and 32nd time in team history. They've gone as far as the Round of 16 (2022) under fourth-year coach Jason Cooper and advanced to the second round as a No. 11 seed last year.
• Their top-end talent will make them a tough out for anyone. Megan Nestor, the SAC Player of the Year and an NAIA All-America third-team selection a season ago, is a 6-foot-4 junior with averages of 19.9 points on 63% shooting and 13.4 rebounds; she posted 23.6 points over her last eight outings. Kaitlyn Jerden, a 5-11 graduate student, is a three-time all-conference selection closing in on 1,800 career points and averaging 17.4. She scored 20-plus eight times in WBU's last 11 games, including a season-high 31 two weeks ago. That duo drives the NAIA's second-most-efficient offense, while guards Peyton North and Emily Sigala facilitate it with a combined 2.7-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio and 36% shooting from 3.
• Only two players on the current roster – Jerden and Sigala – were part of WBU's stunning loss to SOU in the 2023 first round. Jerden went 10-of-18 with a game-high 23 points that night.
• The Flying Queens received an at-large bid after falling in the SAC Tournament semifinals. Of their four losses, three were against teams that are in the NAIA Tournament field.

No. 10 CARROLL (19-11)
Helena, Mont. | Frontier Conference (10-5, tied-2nd)
Final NAIA Top 25: Receiving votes (No. 27 overall)
Offensive Rating: 80th (95 points/100 possessions)
Defensive Rating: 75th (85 points allowed/100 poss.)
Net Rating: 72nd (+10 points/100 poss.)
Last 10 Games: 6-4

• The Saints are a year removed from claiming a spot in the national semifinals and have advanced to the Round of 16 each of the last three seasons under 14th-year coach Rachelle Sayers. They lost their starting frontcourt from the decorated 2023-24 squad, including NAIA Player of the Year Jamie Pickens, but the rest of the rotation remained largely intact.
• Carroll has arguably the most battle-tested backcourt in Ashland. It features Frontier Player of the Year Kyndall Keller, who averages 14.2 points and shoots 49% from 3. She – like 6-foot, all-conference guard Willa Albrecht (15.0 points, 7.1 rebounds), who scored 26 in the Frontier championship game – is a University of Montana transfer. The third starting guard back from the Saints' semifinal team is senior Addi Ekstrom (11.4 points, 3.1 assists, 1.4 steals), a Frontier All-Defensive Team selection.
• The Saints' recent skid – they dropped four of their last six games – coincides with some shooting struggles. Over the last month, they've hit at just 35% from the field and 28% from 3. They were ranked No. 19 before going cold, and peaked at No. 8 in the NAIA Top 25 preseason poll.
• Excluding the pandemic era, the Saints have won five consecutive first-round games. This is the 16th time they've qualified for the NAIA postseason since 2004.
• The Saints went 2-2 against CCC teams in non-conference play, losing to Lewis-Clark State and Eastern Oregon. They lost at SOU in November 2022 and defeated the Raiders in Helena in November 2023.