The Kansas Wesleyan women won't have to travel far for their first game in the NAIA Women's National Championship - 167 miles to Olathe to be precise.
The Coyotes play No. 9-ranked MidAmerica Nazarene at 6 p.m. March 14 inside the Cook Center following the unveiling of the 64-team field Thursday night.
KWU (23-7) is the 15th seed in the Duer Quadrant and MNU (28-2) the second seed. The winner advances to the Second Round on March 15 against either seventh-seeded Mid-American Christian (Okla.) or 10th-seeded Northwestern (Iowa) for a trip to the final 16 that begins March 20 in Sioux City, Iowa.
The Coyotes won the Kansas Conference regular-season title with an 18-4 conference record but lost to Friends 64-62 in the semifinals of the KCAC tournament last Saturday. The MNU game will be their first in the NAIA tournament since 2020 when they defeated Mayville State before the event was canceled due to the widening COVID-19 pandemic.
MidAmerica Nazarene won the Heart of America Conference title with a 24-0 record but lost to Benedictine 65-51 in the conference tournament championship game on Monday. The setback ended the Pioneers' 26-game winning streak.
"I know they were really good this year," coach Ryan Showman said. "We haven't played them since I was an assistant coach (November 2011). They have some really good Kansas kids on their team, and I know coach (Jon) Lewis does a heck of a job with that group year in and year out. They're always in the running in the Heart and they're going to be a good challenge for us."
Showman is taking a pragmatic approach to KWU's seeding.
"I try not to get caught up in all that, it's out of our control," he said. "What was in our control was winning games we needed to win. All I know is we have an opportunity to play a really good team in a really tough bracket, and we're really excited about this challenge and this time of year."
Showman said his team has enjoyed some time off since the Friends loss but is eager to begin preparations for the national tournament.
"We hated losing in that semifinal, wanted to play for a conference tournament championship but we look at the bright side," he said. "We got to take a couple of good days off at the beginning of the week, we've staggered practice towards the end of the week and then we'll get back ready on Monday to hit the prep.