Ainsley Velasquez/Women's Basketball | Mid-America Christian University
Ainsley Velasquez/Women's Basketball | Mid-America Christian University
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced its 2023 women's basketball championship field on Thursday night as the Evangels earned their third straight bid to the 64-team tournament.
The first two rounds of the NAIA Tournament will be played at 16 sites from Mar. 7-8 with the 16 finalists advancing to play in the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa from Mar. 13-18.
For the second time in three years, MACU will play in the Park City, Kansas bracket by earning the No. 6 seed and will be re-matched against No. 11 seed Sterling (Kan.). The two teams faced off against each other on New Year's Eve inside the Gaulke Activity Center as MACU held off a furious Warriors rally to come away with an 83-77 win.
Mid-America Christian enters the tournament as an at-large selection as the Evangels finished the regular season with a 23-6 overall record and went 17-5 in Sooner Athletic Conference play. Overall, the SAC was one of the best represented leagues in the field as six teams from the power conference qualified for the tourney.
The Evangels put together a stellar resume during the course of the 2022-23 season, posting a 3-2 record against teams ranked in the final NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll as well as a 9-3 record against teams that qualified for the tournament field.
Mid-America Christian and Sterling will square off in the first round game on Tuesday, Mar. 7 at 6 p.m. inside Hartman Arena. If the Evangels advance, they would play the winner of No. 3 seed Montana Western and No. 11 seed Philander Smith (Ark.) at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Mar. 8.
Original source can be found here
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