INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Blue Division Co-Champion and Tournament Champion Austin College (16-11) earned its second berth in program history into the 64-team NCAA Div. III Women’s Basketball Tournament it was announced Monday afternoon. NCAA Release | Bracket
Austin College, which claimed its second SCAC Women’s Basketball Tournament Championship title on Sunday, defeating Hendrix, 55-44, has won five of its last seven contests.
Under first-year head coach Olivia Hunt, the 'Roos will head to Abilene, Texas where Hardin-Simmons (22-5) awaits for its opening round contest. The Cowgirls are the automatic qualifier out of the American Southwest Conference (ASC) and defeated Howard Payne, 73-46, to earn the program's ninth ASC title.
The two teams played earlier this season, with Hardin-Simmons earning a 55-44 victory in Sherman on December 7.
On the opposite side of the bracket is Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (20-7) and Whitman College (20-7). CMS, who earned its NCAA berth by virtue of winning the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's automatic bid, defeated Cal Lutheran, 69-58, on Saturday to earn the program's first SCIAC title since 2017. Whitman grinded out a 67-51 road victory over George Fox on Friday to capture the team's fourth Northwest Conference title in the last five years.
Automatic qualification (AQ) is granted to 43 conference champions. The remaining 21 spots are selected from those teams in conferences with automatic bids that did not win their conference’s AQ. The teams are geographically paired, whenever possible.
Sixteen first/second-round sites will be conducted March 6-7. Second-round winners will advance to one of four sectional sites March 13-14. Winners of the four sectional sites will advance to the national semifinals/final site on March 19 and 21. All games, except the semifinals and final, will be played on the campuses of competing institutions. The semifinals/final will be conducted at Cregger Center in Salem, Virginia, hosted by City of Salem and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
