TMU Women's Basketball to host NAIA Opening Round

TMU Women's Basketball is set to host a 2022 NAIA National Championship Opening Round presented by Ballogy, which will take place Friday, March 11 and Saturday, March 12 inside The MacArthur Center.
 
Master's, ranked seventh in the final NAIA Coaches' Poll, was awarded the second seed in the Cramer Quadrant of the bracket and will be joined in the Opening Round by seventh-seeded Georgetown College (Ky.), 10th-seeded Southern Oregon University and 15th-seeded UC Merced.
 
The Mustangs will open the national tournament against UC Merced on March 11 at 7:30 p.m. The winner of that game will play the winner of the first Opening Round semifinal, which features Georgetown and Southern Oregon at 5:30 p.m., in Saturday's Opening Round championship at 7 p.m.
 
The winner of the four-team Opening Round tournament will then advance as one of 16 teams to the 2022 NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship presented by Bomgaars, in Sioux City, Iowa from March 17-22.
 
TMU (29-3 overall) was announced as one of 16 host sites for the Opening Round on Feb. 24, before claiming an automatic berth into the national tournament by winning the Golden State Athletic Conference Tournament title. The Mustangs, who finished second in the GSAC regular season, are making their 16th-ever appearance in the national tournament.
 
Georgetown (22-11), receiving votes in the national poll, is making its 15th appearance at nationals. The Tigers earned an at-large bid after finishing third in the Mid-South Conference regular season and reaching the MSC Tournament title game, losing to No. 5 Campbellsville by just two points.
 
Southern Oregon (28-5) earned an automatic berth to the national tournament after winning the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament against No. 19 Lewis-Clark State. The Raiders, who finished second in the CCC regular season standings, are making their 12th appearance at nationals.
 
UC Merced (18-7) also claimed an automatic berth after winning the California Pacific Conference Tournament crown, following an unbeaten 10-0 run through the Cal Pac regular season. The Bobcats qualified for the national tournament for the fourth time in their history.
 
Master's is 3-0 all-time against UC Merced, the Mustangs' Opening Round semifinal opponent, but the two teams have not played since Dec. 6, 2013.
 
TMU is 0-1 against Georgetown, having lost to the Tigers in the second round of the national tournament on March 18, 2005.
 
The Mustangs are also 0-1 all-time against Southern Oregon, losing their only meeting back on Nov. 25, 2017.
 
Ticket prices for the Opening Round are $10 for general admission and $5 for students.
 
All games will be broadcast on the TMU portal of the GSAC SPORTS NETWORK and will cost $9.95 to watch.
 
Tournament bracket, Opening Round schedule, live stream and live stat info will be available on the TOURNAMENT WEBPAGE.