MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The NAIA announced on Thursday which teams Faulkner will welcome to Tine Davis Gymnasium as the Lady Eagles earn a bid to the NAIA Women's Basketball Championship for the fourth time in program history, the first time under head coach Jacob Roark, and host a First and Second Round of the NAIA Women's Basketball Championship in a first for the program. 

Faulkner draws the 11-seed in the Duer Quadrant of the Field of 64, and will host No. 3 seed Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), No. 6 seed Southeastern (Fla.) and No. 14 seed Williams Baptist (Ark.). For their First Round matchup, the Lady Eagles get a rematch with the Fire of Southeastern, who bested Faulkner 60-58 in Lakeland on November 1 on an offensive foul call with four seconds left. The two begin the basketball action on Friday, March 13 at 4 pm.  

In its second season under Roark, Faulkner has earned an at-large selection with a 21-8 overall record and a 13-4 mark in SSAC play, finishing as runners-up for the regular season title behind only Loyola. The No. 23-ranked Fire are led by former Freed-Hardeman head coach Joshua Epperson, also in his second season at SEU. They finished as Sun Conference Champions in both the regular season and conference tournament with a 27-3 overall record and a 15-1 mark in conference play.  

The Fire lead the all-time series between the schools 3-1 and have won the last three contests, none by more than six points, after Faulkner won the first contest between the two in Lakeland in just its second game as a program in 2010. This is the first postseason meeting between the two.  

The victor will take on the winner of the second game, which will tip at 6 pm, between the Blue Raiders of Lindsey Wilson and the Lady Eagles of Williams Baptist. The two will play each other for the first time.  

LWU earns an at-large bid as the No. 11 team in the NAIA and the No. 4 team in the Mid-South Conference, behind only the teams ranked Nos. 2, 3 and 5 in the NAIA. The Blue Raiders finished 21-8 and 7-5 in Mid-South play with five wins over Top 25 teams, including wins over No. 3 Bethel and No. 5 Campbellsville and a sweep of No. 2 Freed-Hardeman. LWU is led by John B. Wethington, in his 37th season as head coach of the Blue Raiders, and has only made the trip to Tine Davis once, where it won 58-55 in the 2019 SSAC/Mid-South Challenge. 

Williams Baptist makes the field as the American Midwest Conference regular season and tournament runners-up, finishing with a 24-5 overall record and 16-2 mark in AMC play. John Mayberry's Lady Eagles make the tournament field for the third straight season and the third time in program history. If it pulls off the upset, WBU will also take on Faulkner for the first time.  

The winners of the games will meet on Saturday, March 14, at 4 pm for a chance to punch their ticket to the Final Site at Sioux City, Iowa, which will take place from March 20-25.  

Faulkner is looking for its first national tournament win since 2013 after losing in the First Round in 2018 and 2023.  

All contests of the NAIA Men's and Women's Basketball National Championships will be broadcast for free on the Urban Edge Network.