March 12, 2026
HELENA, Mont. – Four Frontier women’s basketball teams will be playing in the 2026 NAIA Women’s Basketball National Championship First and Second Rounds this weekend. There will be a Frontier Conference team in each of the four quadrants of the national tournament.
Dakota State (S.D.) (26-5 overall record) will represent the Frontier Conference regular season champion and will host the First and Second Rounds in Madison, S.D. The Trojans were selected as No. 3 seed in the Naismith quadrant and will face No. 14 seed Grand View (Iowa) (22-7 overall record) Friday evening at 5:30 p.m. (Central Time).
The other pairing will feature No. 6 seed Concordia (Neb.) (23-7 overall record) and No. 11 seed Bethel (Kan.) (20-9 overall record) at 7:30 p.m. (CT). The winners move on to Saturday’s second round at 6 p.m. (CT).
Montana Tech (25-4 overall record) earned the second Frontier Conference automatic bid by winning the postseason tournament title. The Orediggers were seeded No. 5 in the Duer quadrant and will travel to Lewiston, Idaho, for their first-round game versus No. 12 seed Nelson (Texas) (22-6 overall record) at 7:30 p.m. (Pacific Time).
The other first round pairing features host-team No. 4 seed Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) (23-8 overall record) taking on No. 13 seed Hope International (Calif.) (24-4 overall record) at 5:30 p.m. (PT). The winners play on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. (PT).
Rocky Mountain (Mont.) and Carroll (Mont.) each received an at-large invitation to the NAIA Women’s Basketball National Tournament.
The Battlin’ Bears (20-9 overall record) returns to Sioux Center, Iowa, for the second straight year. RMC was seeded No. 8 in the Cramer Bracket and will face No. 9 seed Southern Oregon in the First Round Friday at 7:30 p.m. (CT).
The winner of that game will move on to Saturday’s game against Friday’s winner of No. 1 seed and two-time defending national champion Dordt (Iowa) (29-2 overall record) and No. 16 seed Simpson (Calif.) (17-7 overall record).
Carroll (19-10 overall record) was seeded No. 9 in the Liston quadrant and will travel to Indianapolis, Ind. The Fighting Saints take on No. 8 seed Columbia (Mo.) (30-1 overall record) in the First Round Friday at 7:30 p.m. (Eastern Time).
The other pairing in the Indianapolis’ pod features No. 1 seed Marian (Ind.) 29-2 overall record taking on No. 16 seed Haskell (Kan.) (14-16 overall record). Friday’s winners advance to Saturday’s Second Round at 6 p.m. (ET).
The winners after this weekend’s First and Second Rounds move on to the final site at Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa, on March 19-24.
All games will be live broadcast through NAIA’s Urban Edge Network.