INDIANAPOLIS – The Northwestern Oklahoma State women's basketball team received an automatic bid into the 2026 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championship, announced on Sunday. The Lady Rangers will play as the No. 7 seed in the Central Regional, drawing No. 2 seed Concordia-St. Paul in the quarterfinal round.
 
The Lady Rangers and Golden Bears will play in the regional quarterfinals at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, March 13 inside the Taylor Center on the campus of Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minnesota. The Mavericks earned hosting rights after picking up the top seed in the region.
 
This is Northwestern's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament, with the last postseason appearance for the Lady Rangers coming in the 1998-99 season, when Northwestern was a member of the NAIA. Concordia St. Paul earned their way into the tournament by defeating Minnesota State in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championship. This will be the first meeting between the Lady Rangers and the Golden Bears.

Following Friday's quarterfinal round, semifinals are on Saturday, March 14 and the regional title game is on Monday, March 16.
 
The Central Region champion will join seven other regional champions in Pittsburgh, Pa. at the NCAA Division II Women's Elite Eight from March 24-28.

Fans can purchase tickets for the NCAA tournament by going to https://msumavericktickets.universitytickets.com/, with tickets priced at $10 per session for adults and $5 for youth, students, and senior citizens, watch live at https://www.ncaa.com/game/6537990, or listen live on KRDR 105.7 FM or online at alvaradio.com.

2026 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championship Central Region Tournament Quarterfinal Matchups
12 p.m. – No. 3 seed Fort Hays State (24-5) vs. No. 6 seed Harding (24-6)
2:30 p.m. – No. 2 seed Concordia-St. Paul (24-6) vs. No. 7 seed Northwestern Oklahoma State (22-9)  
5 p.m. - No. 1 seed Minnesota State (29-2) vs. No. 8 seed Minnesota Duluth (20-8)
7:30 p.m. – No. 4 seed Central Missouri (25-6) vs. No. 5 seed vs. Washburn (24-7)

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