[Women's Basketball] Mount Mercy, Southwestern square off Wednesday night

SIOUX CITY, Iowa -- Mount Mercy will play its first national tournament game since 1995 when the 12th-ranked Mustangs square off with 22nd-ranked Southwestern (Kan.) in the first round of the 21st Annual NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship on Wednesday at 9:15 p.m. at the Tyson Events Center.

Mount Mercy, seeded third in its section of the tournament bracket, and Southwestern, the sixth seed, will meet in the last of eight opening-day games. The Mustangs (25-8) and Moundbuilders (23-8) took similar paths to the national tournament. Mount Mercy was second in the Midwest Collegiate Conference during the regular season and was the tournament runner-up after a 79-71 loss to top-seeded Grand View in the MCC championship game.

Southwestern also placed second in the 10-team Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) before losing in the KCAC finals to fourth-seeded Sterling (Kan.), 62-61. Friends (Kan.) received the KCAC's automatic bid for winning the regular season title, so Southwestern had to hope for an at-large bid to the national tournament, which they received.

Mount Mercy and Southwestern faced a pair of common opponents this year. Both played fellow national qualifier Hastings (Neb.) in their season openers. The Broncos (21-10), currently 19th in the latest top 25 poll, defeated the Mustangs and Moundbuilders by double digits. Southwestern also fell to Culver-Stockton (Mo.), 80-77, while Mount Mercy beat the Wildcats, 80-70, during the second week of the season.

Wednesday's winner earns a second round matchup with either second-seeded and fifth-ranked Morningside (25-8) or seventh-seeded Daemen (N.Y.) (23-7) on Friday at 5:15 p.m. Morningside, which defeated Mount Mercy in early November in Sioux City, and Daemen play at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

The other two matchups in Mount Mercy's bracket are top-seeded and fourth-ranked Davenport (Mich.) (29-4) against eighth-seeded California State San Marcos (18-14) on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. and fourth-seeded and 12th-ranked Briar Cliff (22-9) versus fifth-seeded and 20th-ranked St. Thomas (Fla.) (24-7) on Wednesday at 5:15 p.m.

Top-ranked Indiana Wesleyan (31-2) is the top overall seed in the tournament and will take on Menlo (Calif.) (16-13) on Wednesday at 1:45 p.m. Mount Mercy's Midwest Collegiate Conference rival, seventh-ranked Grand View (28-5), is the second seed in their portion of the bracket and is scheduled against Saint Mary (Neb.) (22-10) on Thursday at 8:45 p.m.

First round action includes eight games on Wednesday and eight more on Thursday. The second round is Friday, followed by quarterfinal play on Saturday. After a day off on Sunday, the national semifinals are Monday evening, with the national championship game Tuesday night.

The first 30 tournament games will be streamed live by NeuLion, the NAIA's Digital Media Partner, for a fee. The title game will be broadcast live at 8:00 p.m. by CBS Sports Network.

For complete national championship coverage,

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