MARION, Ind. – The NAIA released the seeding and opponents on Thursday evening of the 2023 NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship First & Second Round presented by Ballogy. The Wildcats earned the No. 1 seed in the Liston Quadrant and will welcome MidAmerica Nazarene (8-seed), Georgetown (Ky.) (9-seed), and Southwestern Christian (Okla.) (16-seed) to the campus of Indiana Wesleyan University next week.
Visit the Marion Bracket Tournament Central page to stay up to date with all the information you need throughout the First and Second Round.
No. 8 Seed – MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)
- The Pioneers earned an at-large berth to the NAIA National Championships out of the Heart of America Conference
- MNU will head roughly 570-miles east bringing a 21-8 record with them. If IWU and MNU meet, it will be for the first time since 2002.
- The Pioneers were the 2016 NAIA National Champions.
- TrEl'Shawn Smith leads the team with 17.2 points per game and 6.9 rebounds. She was named an All-Conference First Team member.
- Head Coach Jon Lewis is in his 12th season at the helm and has won 1 national championship, 3 Heart championships, 4 conference tournament championships, and has 10 national tournament appearances.
No. 9 Seed - Georgetown (Ky.)
- Georgetown College comes to Marion, Indiana from Georgetown, Kentucky and are led by Jeff Nickel, who is in his 2nd season.
- The Tigers have a record of 18-13 and earned an at-large berth out of the Mid-South Conference.
- GC is making their 16th overall appearance in the postseason.
- Erin Toller and Madison Darnell were named to the All-Conference First Team. Toller is GC's leading scorer, pouring in 15.7 points-per-game. Darnell hauls in 7.5 rebounds a game while averaging 10.7 points.
- Izzy Lamparty is the Tigers' third weapon, averaging 10.9 points-per-game at an efficient 56%. Lamparty earned All-Conference Second Team honors.
No. 16 Seed – Southwestern Christian (Okla.)
- Southwestern Christian makes their 1st appearance in program history to the NAIA National Championships, earning an automatic bid for their Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Championship.
- Located 840 miles from IWU, SCU tallied a record of 17-13 this season. This will be the first time the two programs have played each other in Women's Basketball.
- Mark Arthur is the Head Coach for the Eagles in his eighth season. He led the team to the NCCAA National Championship last season.
- Christina Jenkins leads the Eagles with 11 points-per-game and 7.6 rebounds-per-game, earning the Sooner Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year honor. Both MJ Case and Tresha Yager average 10 points-per-game
- Game 1: IWU v. Southwestern Christian // 6:00 p.m. // Tuesday, March 7
- Game 2: MidAmerica Nazarene v. Georgetown // 8:00 p.m. // Tuesday, March 7
- Game 3: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 // 7:00 p.m. // Wednesday, March 8
- Tickets are on sale now! Tickets are sold by the day and grant the individual access to all games on that day. Tournament Passes give individuals access to both days for all games.
- Friday/Saturday Pricing - Adult - $12 / Child (6-17) - $8 / Children (5 & Under) - Free
- All Tournament Pass – Adult $20 / Child (6-17) - $12
- Traveling into Marion and need a place to stay? Give our friends a call at Holiday Inn Express - Gas City at (765) 674-6664 to book your rooms. Holiday Inn Express is the official hotel sponsor of Wildcat Athletics and is the best place to stay when visiting IWU.
#
