Women's Basketball Set For NCAA First Round Matchup With Saint Mary's

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (WLCSports.com) – Wisconsin Lutheran College will make its third straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 14th overall when it travels to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, for the 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship Tournament. The (RV) Warriors (23-5) will square off against Saint Mary's (MN) (20-7) on Friday, March 6 at 4:45 p.m. at Kolf Sports Center. Webster (19-8) will take on regional host and fourth-ranked UW-Oshkosh (24-3) at 7:15 p.m. in the other first round matchup. The two winners will meet in the second round on Saturday, March 7 at 7:15 p.m., with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line. Tickets to the game are $15 for adults, $10 for students, seniors and children, and children five and under are free.

WLC enters its 14th NCAA Tournament on a 14-game winning streak. Wisconsin Lutheran went 3-2 this season against teams in the NCAA Tournament field, defeating Trine (66-64), Gustavus Adolphus (69-54), and Illinois Wesleyan (71-61), while falling to UW-Platteville (63-57) and Messiah (55-54). The Warriors downed Lakeland (80-49), MSOE (67-41), and St. Norbert (48-29) to win their 16th conference tournament title and earn the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference automatic bid into the 64-team field.

WLC, which clinched its 14th 20-plus win season in program history, has been one of the top shooting teams in NCAA Division III this season, entering the NCAA Tournament ranked 14th in field goal percentage (43.5 percent). Wisconsin Lutheran currently leads the NACC in rebounding margin (+9.4), rebounds per game (41.18), field goal percentage defense (33.4), 3-point percentage defense (23.1), ranks second in field goal percentage, free throws made (12.43) and attempted (17.50) per game, total points (1,963), defensive rebounds per game (27.8), scoring defense (51.4 ppg), scoring margin (+18.7), and is third in assists per game (13.5), scoring offense (70.1 ppg), and 3-point percentage (30.5).

Nationally, the Warriors also rank 13th in NCAA Division III in 3-point percentage defense. and 19th in both scoring defense and scoring margin. WLC's top-20 defense can be credited in large part to sophomore Lily Oiler (Watertown, Wis.), who was named named NACC Defensive Player of the Year. She is the fifth player in program history to receive the honor.

Junior forward Margie Stevens (Oneida, Wis.), a three-time First Team All-NACC selection, averages 14.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. She has reached double-figure scoring in 22 games. First Team All-NACC sophomore forward Abby Cole (Fond du Lac, Wis.) averages 11.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per contest. She has recorded seven double-doubles and scored in double figures in 15 games. Freshman guard Kenly Frey (Brookfield, Wis.) and senior guard/forward Jayden Hill (Kenosha, Wis.) were both Second Team All-NACC selections. Frey averages 12.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game, while reaching double figures 16 times. Hill averages 7.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game and has recorded a pair of double-doubles this season. 

Eight-time NACC Coach of the Year Klay Knueppel is in his 22nd season as head coach at Wisconsin Lutheran. He enters Friday's contest with an overall collegiate coaching record of 442-150. Knueppel, the third head coach in program history, spent 12 seasons (1992-2004) as an assistant with the Warriors before being named head coach in 2004. He has guided WLC to 14 conference championships and 12 NCAA Tournament appearances. Knueppel, who recorded his 400th career win on November 22, 2024, over No. 17 Transylvania, entered the season 19th among winningest active coaches in Division III with a .743 winning percentage.

Wisconsin Lutheran is making its 14th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and is 3-13 all-time on the national stage. The Warriors won their first NCAA Tournament game in 2011, a 73-59 triumph over (RV) UW-La Crosse in the first round in Bloomington, Illinois. WLC posted its biggest NCAA Tournament win in 2015 with a 70-67 overtime upset win at No. 10 Wheaton. Wisconsin Lutheran also knocked off No. 17 Illinois Wesleyan, 48-40, in a first round game on March 1, 2019, in St. Paul, Minnesota. This marks the Warriors' third trip to Oshkosh for a NCAA Tournament regional, having previously gone in 2016 and 2000.

Friday's NCAA Tournament First Round matchup marks the first-ever meeting between WLC and SMU, Wisconsin Lutheran last squared off against a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponent earlier this season on November 14 when it defeated Gustavus Adolphus, 69-54, in the Paul F. Knueppel Classic. This will be the Warriors' third NCAA Tournament game all-time against a member of the MIAC.

The Cardinals (20-7), who lost in the semifinal of the MIAC Playoffs to top-seeded Concordia-Moorhead, 71-62, earned the final at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. Saint Mary's is making its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2014. Courtney Shelton is in her second season as head coach at SMU, entering the postseason with a 33-19 record. Prior to her arrival in Winona, she spent time as an assistant coach at UW-Milwaukee, Central Michigan, and Northwood. The Cardinals, who rank 20th nationally in field goal percentage (43.1 percent), lead the MIAC in total points (1,964), rebounding margin (+8.9), and offensive rebounds per game (13.8), rank second in field goal percentage, rebounds per game (38.18), scoring margin (+11.6), and scoring offense (70.1 ppg), and third in free throws made (14.36) and attempted (19.82) per game, and 3-point percentage (31.7). Freshman forward Ayla Olson, the MIAC Rookie of the Year and All-MIAC selection, averages 15.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. Sophomore guard Brianna Nusbaum and junior forward Kali Olson were also named All-MIAC. Nusbaum averages 15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.7 steals per game, while Kali Olson averages 9.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game.