Columbia, MO - The Columbia College women's basketball team will travel to Indianapolis, Indiana to compete in the NAIA Women's Basketball First Round, presented by Ballogy. The Cougars' four team pod also sees Marian University (host), Carroll College, and Haskell Indian Nations University. 

Schedule

March 13th	March 14th
Game 1 - 4:30PM (CST) - Marian vs. Haskell	Game 3 - 5:00PM (CST) - Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner
Game 2 - 6:30PM (CST) - Columbia vs. Carroll

Meet the Teams
- #8 Columbia College (30-1, 18-0 AMC)
The Cougars secured the 2026 American Midwest Conference Tournament Championship with an 86-58 victory over No. 2 seed William Baptist University. Columbia won its fifth-straight AMC Tournament Championship and 11th overall in program history.

Columbia picked up multiple AMC awards with Lexi Miller (First Team), Ashtyn Klusmeyer (First Team), Mya Miller (Second Team), Lexi Rubel (Second Team), Lauren Friedrich (Third Team / Sixth Woman of the Year), and Tori Rubel (Defensive Player of the Year / All-Defensive Team). 

Klusmeyer (483) and Lexi Miller  (472) lead the team in scoring, while Lexi Rubel has had big contributions with 268 rebounds, 257 points, 153 assists, and 41 steals.

As a team, the Cougars have made 320 3PT field goals this season, ranking third in the entire NAIA. 

- #1 Marian (29-2, 16-2 CL)
The Knights of Marin University earned a spot in the NAIA National Tournament after winning both the Crossroads League regular season and tournament titles, marking the programs sixth tournament title in program history. 

Abbey McNally repeated as the Crossroads League Player and Defensive Player of the Year, becoming Marian's third player to earn Player of the Year in consecutive seasons, while becoming the first player in Crossroads League History to repeat as Defensive Player of the Year three consecutive seasons. In addition to McNally being named as the league's top player, head coach Suntana Anderson was named as the Crossroads League Coach of the Year, earning the honor for the first time in her career. 

Marian had five additional players join McNally on the All-CL Teams, with Taylor Double joining the senior on the All-CL First Team. Both Madisyn Bailey and Olivia Faust were named to the Second Team, and Kenna Kirby and Kiley McNally were named as Honorable Mention Team players.

- #9 Carroll (19-10, 17-5 FC)
The Fighting Saints of Carroll earned an at-large bid to the NAIA First Round as they fell to Montana Western in the quarterfinals of the Frontier Conference Tournament. Carroll is making its sixth straight appearance in the National Tournament. During the 2023-24 season, the Fighting Saints saw their best program finish as the team advanced all the way to the NAIA National Semifinals. 

Jillian Kanduch was named Freshman of the Year in the Frontier Conference, while Kenzie Allen was awarded co-Newcomer of the Year, a spot on the All-Defensive Team, and Second Team honors; Willa Albrecht was named to the First Team. 

- #16 Haskell (14-16)  
Haskell earned its spot in the NAIA National Tournament after the Fightin' Indians won the CAC Championship with a 66-56 win over top-seeded Georgia Gwinnett College. Ona Dauphinais was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, while Ivy Fox and Tierzah Penn also made the All-Tournament Team.

Fox was named CAC Newcomer of the Year and First Team All-Conference, with Dauphinais earning First Team honors.