Catawba, Wingate and Lenoir-Rhyne Women's Basketball Earn Bids to NCAA DII Southeast Regional

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) - The NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Committee announced today the field of 64 teams that will compete in the 2023 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championship. Three South Atlantic Conference women's basketball teams will continue their season after earning bids to the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional. Catawba, Wingate, and Lenoir-Rhyne earned spots, with the Indians taking the No. 1 seed.

The Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (24-7, 11-7 SAC) are sitting at No. 4 in the Women's Basketball NCAA Southeast region after wrapping up their 2022-23 season. The Bears collected the SAC Tournament Championship title earlier this evening in a 63-59 win over Anderson. Lenoir-Rhyne earned an automatic bid with the win and will take on No. 5 Clayton State (18-11) in the first round of play. 

The Catawba Indians (25-5, 16-2 SAC) earn the No. 1 seed in the Southeast Region after earning the SAC Piedmont Division title and making an appearance in the SAC semifinal game vs. Lenoir-Rhyne. The Indians are set to take on No. 8 UNC Pembroke (22-9) in the first round.

The Wingate Bulldogs (22-7, 14-4 SAC) are the No. 2 seed after falling out of the conference tournament in the semifinals to Anderson. They will take on the No. 7 seed North Georgia.

Twenty-three conferences have been awarded automatic qualification. The remaining 41 teams were selected at large by the committee.

Eight eight-team regionals will be played at on-campus sites March 10, 11 and 13. The eight regional champions advancing to the Women's Elite Eight will be seeded by the Women's Basketball Committee after completion of the regionals. The quarterfinals and semifinals of the 2023 NCAA Division II Women's Elite Eight will be held at the St. Joseph Civic Arena in St. Joseph, Missouri, March 20 and 22. Missouri Western State University and the St. Joseph Sports Commission will serve as hosts.

The championship game will be contested April 1 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, in conjunction with the NCAA Women's Final Four.