The Cregger Center on the campus of Roanoke College will be the site of the NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament this week. Semifinals are scheduled for Thursday with the national championship game at 4 pm Saturday.
The Final Four will open with a 5 pm game Thursday between Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Denison. Defending national champion New York University(NYU) will meet Scranton in Thursday’s second game at 7:30 pm.
The NYU game against Scranton will match two undefeated teams, NYU at 29-0 and Scranton at 31-0. The defending champion Violets defeated the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, 72-47, in last week’s NCAA Elite 8 game at the John A. Paulson Center in Manhatten, NY Saturday for their 91st consecutive win. The winning streak is the longest in Division III history and second in the NCAA to Division I University of Connecticut’s 111 wins in a row from 2014-17.
The Violets have won the past two Division III titles, both over Smith College, by scores of 51-41 in 2024 and 77-59 a year ago in Salem. NYU, which also claimed the 1997 national championship, is 53-24 overall in 25 NCAA tournament appearances. The Violets, whose three Division titles are tied for second most, are back in the Final Four for the sixth time.
Scranton is Division III’s winningest NCAA post-season program. The Lady Royals clinched the 1985 national championship and have since made Final Four trips in 1987, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006 and 2019. Scranton’s 10th Final Four appearance ties Washington University in St. Louis’ division record while its 79 wins (79-40) and 38 NCAA trips top Division III.
Denison denied this week’s Final Four of a third undefeated team as the Big Red defeated Washington & Lee of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, 77-64, in the sectional final at W&L last Saturday night. The Generals finished the season with a 31-1 record after the disappointing loss that denied them a chance to play in the NCAA Final Four just 50 miles from Lexington. Denison improved to 28-2 with the win.
Wisconsin-Oshkosh, with a 28-3 record, returns to Salem for the second year in a row. The Titans lost to Smith College, 49-47, in last year’s semifinal game at the Cregger Center.
Oshkosh, despite three losses at the time of selections, entered the Division III Championship as the number two overall seed by virtue of earning 15 countable wins against the top 65 NPI teams. NYU secured nine top-65 victories while Scranton had eight and Denison seven.
