UW-Oshkosh to host NCAA DIII Women’s Basketball Regional for third straight year

OSHKOSH, Wis. (WBAY) - UW-Oshkosh was selected Monday to host an NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship four-team regional for the third consecutive season.

Top-seeded Oshkosh (24-3), which received the first of 21 at-large berths into the 64-team field, will host fourth-seeded Webster University (Mo.) in the opening round at 7:15 p.m. Friday, March 6, at Kolf Sports Center. Webster (19-8) earned an automatic berth by winning the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.

Friday’s regional matchups

The first contest of the day features No. 2 seed Wisconsin Lutheran College against No. 3 seed Saint Mary’s University (Minn.) at 4:15 p.m. Wisconsin Lutheran (22-5) earned an automatic berth after winning the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament. Saint Mary’s (20-8) earned the last at-large bid into the tournament.

Friday’s winners will meet in the regional championship Saturday, March 7, at 7:15 p.m.

Seedings and national bracket

Oshkosh is seeded second overall in the Division III Championship according to the NCAA Power Index and headlines one side of the national bracket. Webster is ranked 175th in NPI among the 413 Division III women’s basketball programs. Wisconsin Lutheran and Saint Mary’s are ranked 28th and 39th, respectively.

About the Titans

The host Titans won the WIAC regular season title outright for the third consecutive season, the first program to accomplish that feat since UW-Green Bay clinched the Division II segment of the league from 1980-82. Oshkosh entered the national tournament after falling 52-49 to UW-La Crosse in the WIAC Tournament final.

Oshkosh, which reached the Final Four a year ago, holds a 41-18 record in 20 prior NCAA postseason trips — the most wins of any WIAC team. The Titans have won at least one game in each of their past 17 national tournament appearances dating to 1994. Oshkosh won the 1996 Division III championship after finishing as the 1995 runners-up and has since advanced to the national quarterfinal round in 1998, 1999 and 2022 ahead of last year’s semifinal run.

Oshkosh enters the tournament leading the entire NCAA, regardless of division, by committing just 9.5 turnovers per contest. The Titans rank second in Division III in scoring defense at 45.6 points allowed per game and eighth with a 1.25 assist-to-turnover ratio.

About Webster University

Webster won both the SLIAC regular season and postseason championships to secure its tournament berth. The top-seeded Gorloks defeated second-seeded Principia College (Mo.) 70-64 in the tournament title game.

Webster is making its ninth NCAA appearance and fourth in the past five years. The Gorloks hold a 2-8 record in the national tournament and were eliminated by Oshkosh in the 2024 first round at Kolf Sports Center. Webster’s two Division III Championship wins came when it reached the third round in 2002.

Webster averages 28.9 points per game off the bench, ranks 10th nationally in turnovers forced at 26.4 per contest and 12th with an 8.5 average turnover margin.

About Wisconsin Lutheran College

Wisconsin Lutheran clinched both its conference regular season and tournament titles, winning the NACC by one game over St. Norbert College before taking the tournament crown 48-29, again over St. Norbert.

Wisconsin Lutheran is 3-13 in 13 NCAA postseason trips. Making its third straight Division III Championship appearance, the Warriors are seeking their first victory since defeating Illinois Wesleyan University in the 2019 opening round. Oshkosh eliminated Wisconsin Lutheran in the first round in 2022.

The Warriors enter on a 14-game winning streak since a Jan. 14 loss at St. Norbert. Wisconsin Lutheran’s .435 field goal percentage ranks 14th in the nation, and its plus-9.4 average rebounding margin ranks 21st.

About Saint Mary’s University

Saint Mary’s secured the final at-large berth after losing 71-62 at top-seeded Concordia College (Minn.) in the semifinal round of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoffs. The Cardinals tied for fourth in the MIAC regular season standings.

Saint Mary’s is back in the NCAA postseason for the fourth time and first since falling to Oshkosh in the 2014 opening round. The Cardinals’ only other appearances were in 1985 and 1986. Saint Mary’s holds a 2-3 record in the national tournament.

Saint Mary’s is the MIAC’s second-highest scoring team at 70.1 points per contest, the best scoring average among the four programs at the Oshkosh Regional.