SIOUX CITY, IA – No. 17 LC State Women’s Basketball is the lone Cascade Conference team standing and is set to open the final site portion of the 2026 NAIA Women’s Basketball National Championship on Friday in the Round of 16. The Warriors, seeded fourth in the Duer Quadrant of the bracket, will face top-seeded No. 3 Bethel (Tenn.) at 9 a.m. PT.
The Warriors last faced the Bethel Wildcats in 2017 when the two teams faced off in the Round of 16 when the tournament sent 32 teams to the final site. Current head coach Caelyn Orlandi led LC State to a 69-58 victory with 29 points in the contest. Orlandi is making her eighth trip to the NAIA final site after four as a player, three as an assistant coach and now her first at the helm.
The game will be streamed on the Urban Edge Network and LC State will hold a watch party in the Student Union Building.
No. 4 Seed – Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) (25-8, 15-5)
The LC State Women’s Basketball team is making its eighth straight trip to the national tournament and 28th overall with an at-large bid out of the Cascade Conference. The Warriors earned their spot in Sioux City with victories over Hope International (Calif.) and No. 15 Montana Tech in the P1FCU Activity Center.
Sitara Byrd had a standout First and Second Round and leads the entire tournament field with 32 rebounds. She grabbed a career-high 15 against HIU in the First Round before 17 in the Second Round. Darian Herring leads the field in blocked shots with nine after she tied the single-game record with eight against Montana Tech.
The Warriors had four players earn All-CCC honors in seniors Byrd and Payton Hymas, junior Herring and sophomore Kendall Wallace. Byrd led LC State in scoring throughout the season with 14.0 points per game and ranks second in the conference in 3-point percentage (41.6%). She is third in steals with 76 and adds 6.8 rebounds per game.
Hymas is second in the conference in steals (84) and assists (129) and is the only CCC player to be in the top five in both categories. She has put together the best season of her career with 13.5 points per game while shooting 49.2% from the field. Herring is one of the top defensive players in the CCC with a conference-best 9.1 rebounds per game and 78 blocked shots. Her 11.7 points per game are third on the team and she is fourth in the Cascade with 113 assists.
Wallace had a breakout season and ranks fifth in the conference in 3-point percentage (40.7%) heading into the national tournament. The sophomore leads LC State in 3-pointers made with 70 and is fourth at LC in scoring with 10.4 points per game. Her 55 steals are third on the team.
LC State is the top CCC team in steals per game (11.8) and is second in scoring (76.4), field goal percentage (45.4) and 3-point percentage (33.9).
No. 1 Seed – Bethel (Tenn.) (27-5, 9-3)
Bethel is making its 16th appearance in the national tournament and has consistently been one of the top teams in the NAIA. The Wildcats defeated Talladega (Ala.) and Huntington (Ind.) in the NAIA First and Second Rounds to advance to Sioux City after earning their spot in the tournament with an at-large bid out of the Mid-South Conference.
Micah Hart was named the Mid-South Conference Player of the Year after leading the conference in scoring with 18.4 points per game. She aids the defense with 6.0 rebounds per game to go with 63 assists, 63 steals and 30 blocks while shooting 49.8% from the floor.
Mikee Buchanan and Madison Hart were also named all-conference and are averaging more than 10 points per game. Buchanan is averaging 15 points per contest with a team-leading 78 3-pointers. She is the top rebounder on the team with 6.3 per game.
Madison Hart is third on the team in scoring with 13.7 points per game with a 46% mark from the field. She averages 5.3 boards per game.
The Wildcats are averaging 73.4 points per game with a 44.3% shooting mark from the field. Bethel is grabbing 33.8 rebounds per game and has held opponents to 59.7 points per game.
THE DETAILS
LC State and Bethel will face off in the first game of the day on Friday.
The winner of the contest will advance to the NAIA Quarterfinal to take on the winner of Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) on Mar. 21.
