Game Time...The Northwestern College women's basketball team is set to play in the NAIA Championship Opening Round, presented by Ballogy, this weekend in Omaha, Neb. Northwestern is the No.3 seed in the three-team, Omaha Bracket A and will face No.2 seed College of the Ozarks (Mo.) on Friday, March 12 at 11am at the D.J. Sokol Arena. The winner of Friday's mid-day match-up will play top seed and eighth-ranked Clarke on Saturday at 11am.

    Follow the Opening Round Bracket at the following links:

        NAIA Opening Round Page | Live Stats | Audio (KSOU) | Watch (payment required)

 Championship Overview... A total of 48 teams from across the NAIA qualified for the Opening Round and consists of 37 automatic qualifiers and 11 at-large selections. Automatic berths were given to teams that either won their respective conference tournament title, regular-season championship, finished runner-up at the conference tournament or were selected by a conference selection committee. The at-large bids were determined by the Women's Basketball National Selection Committee. This committee consists of one representative from each geographical area and six at-large members. 

At Stake...The 2021 NAIA Opening Round winners will meet up in Sioux City, Iowa, at the NAIA National Championship final site event. The 40th annual championship takes place at the Tyson Events Center from March 18-23.

All-Time...Northwestern is 4-2 all-time against College of the Ozarks, last playing against the Bobcats in the quarterfinals of the 2019 NAIA D-II Championship. All six previous match-ups against Ozarks have been at the national tournament, including twic in the title game (2008 and 2012). 

        2000 - Northwestern won 80-77 OT (1st round)
        2007 - Northwestern lost 88-82 OT (2nd round)
        2008 - Northwestern won 82-75 (championship)
        2012 - Northwestern won 75-62 (championship)
        2014 - Northwestern lost 90-69 (quarterfinals)
        2019 - Northwestern  won 71-70 (quarterfinals)

Northwestern is 2-0 all-time against Clarke, last meeting up during the 2012-13 season.

        2013 - Northwestern won 63-42
        2012 - Northwestern won 75-53

All-Time at the Championship...

   This is the Raiders 17th appearance at the NAIA Championship and first in a consolidated division. Northwestern holds a 51-11 record and has won five national titles (2001, 2008, 2010-12); they have been to the national tournament seven times under head coach Chris Yaw (since 2012). 

    College of the Ozarks is making its 27th appearance and holds a 44-25 record at the championship. This is their 20th consecutive trip to the national tournament; the Bobcats have been the runner-up five times (2006-08, 2012 and 2014).

    Clarke is making its fifth overall and third straight trip to the national tournament, owning a 2-3 record at the championship. They qualified for the D-II tournament in 2015 and 2016, losing in the first round each year as the No.8 seed. In 2019 and 2020, they earned a spot in the NAIA D-I tournament where they reached the quarterfinals in 2019 before losing to Oklahoma City. Last year, they qualified but did not play in a game because of CoVID.

How They Qualified...

    Northwestern earned one of the 11 at-large bids into the tournament and is one of three teams from the GPAC in the 48-team field (Morningside, Concordia). 

    College of the Ozarks qualified by way of winning the Association of Independent Institution postseason tournament and is one of two teams from the AII in the field (Crowley's Ridge).

    Clarke won the Heart of America Athletic Conference postseason tournament and received an auto bid; they are one of four HAAC teams in the field (MidAmerica Nazarene, Benedictine, Grand View).

Scouting Reports...

    (RV) College of the Ozarks: 8-1, 3-0 (1st)            
    Head Coach: Becky Mullis (8th year)
    won four straight; only loss to Bacone (72-69 in OT) on Feb. 13
    received votes in final coaches' poll; began year ranked 12th
    2019-20: went 29-4, ranked 5th in final poll
    return 2 starters, 5 players from last year
    By the Numbers...(if top 10 in NAIA)
        Scoring Offense - 77 
        Scoring Defense - 56
        FG % Offense - 42%
        FG % Defense - 36%
        3pt % Offense - 32%
        3pt made / game - 6.5
        3pt % Defense - 28% 
        Reb. Margin - +14 (4th)
        TO Margin - +3
    Top Players...(if top 10 in NAIA)
    Jordan Wersinger - 16.6ppg, 5rpg, 33 assists
    Annie Noah (All-American) - 11.2ppg, 7.7rpg
    Kayley Frank - 11.2ppg, 11 3pters, 6.6rpg
    Madi Braden - 10ppg, 17 3pters
    Kyra Hardesty - 8.6ppg, 20 3pters

    8th-ranked Clarke Pride: 21-2, 14-2 (2nd)          
    Head Coach: Courtney Boyd (4th year)
    won six straight; 7-2 vs ranked teams, losses to #12 MidAmerica Nazarene, (RV) Central Methodist
    ranked 13th in preseason poll, climbed to 8th in last four polls
    2019-20: 25-7, 18-6 (3rd)...ranked #20 in final poll, NAIA qualifier
    return 4 starters, 11 players from last year
    By the Numbers...(if top 10 in NAIA)
        Scoring Offense - 74 
        Scoring Defense - 56 (9th)
        FG % Offense - 41%
        FG % Defense - 35%
        3pt % Offense - 34%
        3pt made / game - 7.2
        3pt % Defense - 31% 
        Reb. Margin - +14 (3rd)
        TO Margin - +2
    Top Players...(if top 10 in NAIA)
    Makenna Haase - 3x All-American, career scoring leader: 14ppg, 8.7rpg, 33 blocks
    Nicole McDermott - 2nd team all-conf: 11.3ppg, 29 3pters, 5.4rpg
    Tina Ubl - 2x all-conf: 11ppg, 20 3pters
    Giana Michels - all-conf: 9.2ppg, 4.3rpg
    Morgan Pitz - All-American, 9ppg, 36 3pters

    (RV) Northwestern College Raiders: 17-10, 16-6 (3rd)         
    Head Coach: Chris Yaw (10th year)
    had 11-game win streak; have won 12 of last 14 heading into nationals
    unranked at start of year; received votes in last three polls
    2019-20: 17-11, 12-10 (6th), picked 4th in GPAC preseason
    return 4 starters, 9 players from last year
    By the Numbers...(if top 10 in NAIA)
        Scoring Offense - 74 
        Scoring Defense - 64
        FG % Offense - 43%
        FG % Defense - 38%
        3pt % Offense - 35%
        3pt made / game - 8
        3pt % Defense - 32% 
        Reb. Margin - +5 
        TO Margin - +1
    Starters...(if top 10 in NAIA)
    Sammy Blum - 13.5ppg, 72 3pters (6th), 81 assists
    Molly Schany - 12.7ppg, 6.5rpg, 59% FG (6th)
    Devyn Kemble - 10ppg, 63 3pters, 39% 3pt
    Taylor VanderVelde - 7.7ppg, 5.6rpg, 78 assists
    Alexis Toering - 5.1ppg, 4.4rpg