FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
By Ron Smith
March 2, 2023
 
(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) The field of 64 teams for the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship First and Second Rounds, presented by Ballogy, has been released. The Santa Barbara Bracket, which will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 7 and 8, will include #7 Southern Oregon (23-7), #10 Wayland Baptist of Texas (21-10) and #15 Antelope Valley (23-7).
 
Westmont, who was awarded the number two seed in the Naismith Quadrant, will take on Antelope Valley in a 5:30 p.m. game on Tuesday, followed by the game between Southern Oregon and Wayland Baptist at 7:30. The winners will square up at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. All three games will take place in Murchison Gymnasium on the Westmont campus.
 
Antelope Valley earned a berth in the national tournament as a result of winning both the regular season and tournament championship in the California Pacific Conference. The Warriors and Pioneers did not play each other this season but Antelope Valley did host Southern Oregon on November 10, losing by a score of 65-56.
 
The Pioneers, who have won their last 10 games, went 3-1 this season in games against Golden State Athletic Conference teams defeating Life Pacific and Hope International in October and San Diego Christian the day before Thanksgiving (76-68). In mid-December, Antelope Valley lost to The Master's 65-76.
 
Antelope Valley is led in scoring by senior guard Chinna Fair out of Oklahoma City. Fair is averaging 22.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Senior forward Kellymar Ramirez from Venezuela is also pulling down 6.4 rebounds per game and averaging 8.8 points.
 
Deon Price (103-43) is in his sixth season as head coach for the Pioneers and this is the fourth time he has led the program to a national championship appearance. Antelope Valley is 2-2 in national tournament play.
 
Westmont has won all three previous encounters.
 
Southern Oregon finished third in the Cascade Collegiate Conference with a record of 18-4 and received an at-large berth into the tournament.
 
The Raiders are led by head coach Carlotta Kloppenburg-Pruitt (52-13) who is in her second year with the program.
 
Southern Oregon is making its 13th appearance in the national championship and has a record of 12-13 in tournament play. Last year, the Raiders defeated Georgetown (Ky.) in the first round by a score of 65-59 before falling to The Master's in the second round 66-53.
 
Southern Oregon played Westmont on November 12 – two days after the Raiders' game with Antelope Valley – and lost by a score of 57-40. That is the only time the two teams have played each other.
 
In action against other GSAC teams, the Raiders defeated Menlo 75-57 in early November, then lost to Jessup on December 19 by a score of 59-50.
 
All-Cascade Conference players Kami Walk, a junior forward, and Brianna Phiakhamngon, a senior guard, lead the Raiders in scoring, averaging 14.7 and 12.7 points per game respectively. Walk leads the team in rebounds, averaging 8.0 per game.
 
Wayland Baptist finished fourth in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings with a record of 15-7 in SAC play. The Flying Queens defeated John Brown (Ark.) and #17 Texas Wesleyan in the SAC Tournament, but fell 70-60 to Southwestern Christian in the championship game. Wayland Baptist received an at-large berth into the national championship field.
 
The Queens have not played any of the teams in the Santa Barbara Bracket and have not faced a GSAC opponent this season.
 
Jason Cooper (53-14) is in his second season as the head coach of Wayland Baptist Women's Basketball.
 
The Warriors and Queens have met three previous times including in the NAIA National Championship semifinals in 2018. Westmont has prevailed each time.
 
Wayland Baptist is led in scoring by senior forward Jenna Cooper-Jackson and sophomore forward Kaitlyn Edgemon who average 19.9 and 18.4 points per game. The duo also lead the Queens in rebounding with Edgemon pulling down 7.1 per game and Cooper-Jackson averaging 6.5. Both were named to the All-SAC Team.
 
The Flying Queens, one of the nation's oldest women's basketball programs, is making its 30th appearance in the National Tournament. They have a tournament record of 32-28. Last season, Wayland Baptist defeated Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) and #19 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) in the first and second rounds before falling to Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 53-66 in the Round of 16.
 
The winner of Wednesday night's second round game, together with the winners of the other 15 first and second round sites, will advance to Sioux City, Iowa to play the tournament to its conclusion beginning on Monday, March 13.
 
Tickets for the event can be purchased online at https://athletics.westmont.edu/tickets.