Lady Wildcats No. 1 Seed in Duer Quadrant in 2026 NAIA Women's Basketball Championship
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [Video Announcement | 1st & 2nd Round Schedule Page | Bracket] The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially announced the teams and bracket for the 2026 NAIA Women's Basketball Championship First and Second Rounds, presented by Ballogy. The 64-team bracket will begin with the First and Second Rounds at host sites nationwide on March 13-14. The 2026 NAIA Second Round winners will meet in Sioux City, Iowa, at the NAIA Championship final site presented by Bomgaars and Sterling. The 45th annual championship occurs at the Tyson Events Center from March 19-24.
The Bethel Lady Wildcats are the No. 1 seed in the Duer Quadrant and will host the No. 16 seeded Talladega (Ala.). The Cats will play Talladega at 5:30 p.m. Friday March 13th in Crisp Arena. Bethel has a home mark of 184-43 in the arena since it opened in 2012.
No. 9 Seed Huntingdon (Ind) will meet # 8 seed Oregon Tech at 7:30 p.m. Friday night. The two winners will play Saturday March 14 at 4 p.m.
Ticket information:
Tickets must be purchased through the online ticketing platform which will be provided on the Bethel athletic website and will be available for purchase beginning Friday afternoon after 4 p.m.
https://bethelathletics.com/tickets
Based on NAIA regulations and recent championship, 2025–2026 postseason policy, there are no complimentary pass lists for NAIA National Championship Opening 1st and 2nd Round games.
The policy states:
- No General Pass Lists: For NAIA National Championship First & Second Rounds, standard season passes, student IDs, and faculty IDs are invalid for these dates.
- Any request for media credentials must be approved by the Bethel Sports Information Office 48 hours prior to the event at mcculleyd@bethelu.eduCat Scratches:
Last year marked Bethel's first appearance in the national championships since the 2021-22 season. The Cats made it two years in a row after going 25-5 this season. Bethel was ranked No. 3 in the nation in the last NAIA Women's Basketball Top 25 poll.
Bethel averages 73.6 points per game and yields 60.1 per outing.
The Cats shoot 44 percent from the floor while their opponents shoot 36 percent from the field.
Bethel shoots 35 percent from behind the arc. Opponents average 29 percent from long distance. Mikee Buchanan leads the squad in three-point attempts and in made three pointers with 76. The team had hit 244 treys on the year. The team averages eight made per game.
The Lady Cats have been excellent from the free throw line at 76 percent. Madison Hart leads the Lady Cats in free throw attempts while Micah Hart leads the squad in free throws made.
Bethel averages 37 rebounds per game while opponents have averaged 33 per contest. Mikee Buchanan leads the team in rebounding with 6.2 per outing.
The Cats average 14 assists per game. Hallie Turner leads the team in assists with 103 on the season.
Buchanan is second in scoring at 15.4 points per game. Madison Hart averages 14.1
Back on January 17th Bethel's Micah Hart became the 20th player in program history to join the 1,000-point club when she led the Lady Cats with a 37-point performance in a victory over Lindsey Wilson in Columbia, Kentucky.
The three-time Player of the Week in the MSC was named the league's Most Valuable Player. She led the league in scoring with an average of 18.7 points per outing. Hart averaged 20.7 points in league play.
Eleven Lady Wildcats earned conference all-academic status.
Madison, Micah, and Mikee were named to the Mid-South 1st Team All-Conference squad.
Bethel's Adalyn Koelling was named to the MSC Champions of Character Team.
The Lady Wildcats are 184-43 in Crisp Arena since it opened in 2012.
Emmett Slone provided information on Talladega.
Quick look at Talladega:
• 17–10 overall record
• 66.7 points per game
• 38.3 rebounds per game
• Ceara Myers leads the Tornadoes with 13.6 PPG and 8.3 RPG. The Tornadoes bring a balanced attack with four players averaging nine plus points per game and a physical presence on the glass. Now the focus shifts to protecting the home floor in McKenzie with a trip to the Final Site in Sioux City on the line. The stage is set. Let's pack the house.
The Happy Book Stack in McKenzie hosted a watch party for the Lady Cats. A special thanks to them for doing so.
TheRightWayToPlay #NAIA #BethelU #OntoTheNext #GMOM
This year's First Round field includes 35 automatic qualifiers and 29 at-large selections. Automatic berths were given to teams that either won their respective conference tournament title or regular season championship, finished runner-up at the conference tournament, or were otherwise selected by the conference. The NAIA Women's Basketball National Selection Committee determined the at-large bids. The selection committee consists of one representative from each geographical area and six at-large members, comprised of coaches and administrators from around the country.
The Crossroads League leads the way with seven teams qualifying for the national tournament, while the Cascade Collegiate Conference, Great Plains Athletic Conference and Mid-South Conference all qualified six teams.
There is one new team entering the championship field, Texas A&M - San Antonio, that is checking in for the first time. On the other end of the field, Campbellsville (Ky.) returns to the field for the 34th time. The Tigers hold the most appearances in championship history. College of the Ozarks (Mo.) also boasts 30 appearances in the championship field.
Brescia (Ky.) last appeared in the championship field in 2008 and ended an 18-year drought with their qualification to the 2026 championship with an automatic bid after being the River States Conference Tournament Runner-Up.
Eleven teams in the field boast one or more titles. Northwestern (Iowa) has claimed five Red Banners and is followed closely by Hastings (Neb.), which has three of its own. Two-time defending national champion, Dordt (Iowa), returns to the field after earning back-to-back Red Banners in Sioux City. Marian (Ind.) and Indiana Wesleyan have also won multiple titles, while Concordia (Neb.), Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), Saint Francis (Ind.), Shawnee State (Ohio), and Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) each have one.
The first and second round host sites were announced earlier this week CLICK HERE.
The host will stream all First and Second Round games for free to the NAIA Channel on the Urban Edge Network. For more information on how to watch, go to naia.org/watch.
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