The Westmont women’s basketball team will host the first two rounds of the 64-team NAIA Women’s National Championship on March 7-8.
The three teams that will join Westmont in the tournament’s “Santa Barbara Bracket” are No. 7-ranked Southern Oregon (23-7), No. 10 Wayland Baptist of Texas (21-10) and No. 15 Antelope Valley (23-7).
The No. 2 Warriors (23-3) will open against Antelope Valley on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Murchison Gym. Southern Oregon and Wayland Baptist play at 7:30 p.m.
The winners meet on Wednesday at 7 p.m., for the right to advance to the Sweet 16 in Sioux City, Iowa.
The NAIA Tournament is divided into four quadrants of 16 teams — Westmont is in the Naismith Quadrant. Each quadrant consists of four four-team brackets. The winners of each bracket advance to Sioux City, Iowa for the final rounds. The national championship game is Saturday, March 18.
Moore encourages the community to come out and watch March Madness basketball and see Westmont senior stars Stefanie Berberabe and Sydney Brown play at home for the last time. They are seeking a second national championship in their careers. They played on the 2021 title team.
“We’d love to have a great turnout from the community and send these seniors off,” said Moore at the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Press Luncheon. “They’re just an extraordinary group you don’t want to miss.”