Loyola University New Orleans will play Milligan (Tenn.) Friday, March 13 in Georgetown, Ky., in the 2026 NAIA Women’s Basketball National Championship First & Second Rounds, presented by Ballogy.
The NAIA announced Thursday evening the 64-team field and pairings. Georgetown is approximately 15 miles north of Lexington and near the intersections of interstates 75 and 64.
The other first-round game at that site will match the host school, Georgetown, and Taylor. Winners will meet March 14 for the right to advance to the NAIA Championship Final Site at Sioux City, Iowa. The final four rounds will be played March 19-24.
The Wolf Pack are a No. 4 seed in the bracket’s Naismith Quadrant. Milligan (23-7) is a No. 13 seed. Georgetown (22-8) is No. 5, and Taylor (17-12) is No. 12. Loyola (24-4) ranked 16th in the final NAIA coaches poll Feb. 25, and Milligan, Georgetown and Taylor were among “others receiving votes.”
Loyola won the Southern States Athletic Conference regular-season championship and reached the semifinals of the SSAC Tournament. The Wolf Pack produced a school-record 17-game winning streak Nov. 25-Feb. 12.
Loyola’s regular-season championship earned it one of the SSAC’s two automatic bids to nationals.
Four from Loyola earned SSAC end-of-season major honors. Alissa O’Dell was player of the year, Deniya Thornton was defensive player of the year, Chandler Caver was freshman of the year, and Kellie Kennedy was coach of the year.
Loyola leads the NAIA with 18.5 made free throws per game and 26.4 free-throw attempts per game. The Wolf Pack are second in the NAIA with a .229 3-point field-goal percentage defense.
The Loyola women qualified for nationals for the 13th consecutive season — all under Kennedy — and the 18th time overall in 22 seasons.
This is the eighth time in the last 10 seasons that Loyola’s women and men both qualified for NAIA basketball nationals. The Wolf Pack men will play Bethel (Kan.) in the first round March 13 at Henderson, Tenn.
Loyola statistical leaders
• Points Per Game: Alissa O’Dell 16.2, Deniya Thornton 15.6, Caitlin Travis 11.2
• 3-Pointers Made: Deniya Thornton 34, Caitlin Travis 25, Madi Walters 23
• Free Throws Made: Deniya Thornton 103, Alissa O’Dell 101, Caitlin Travis 86
• Rebounds Per Game: Alissa O’Dell 8.3, SeQuoia Carroll 6.1, Deniya Thornton 6.0
• Assists Per Game: Chandler Caver 3.3, Caitlin Travis 2.3, Deniya Thornton 2.2
READ MORE:No. 16 Wolf Pack will play Milligan in first round of NAIA nationals
