TICKET PUNCHED: USAO is Headed to Springfield, Mo. for NAIA Women’s Basketball National Tournament
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Thursday evening, the NAIA announced the 64-team field for the 2026 NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship, and the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (19-10, 14-8 SAC) was selected as a No. 13 seed and will open play in Springfield, Mo. against the No. 4 seed Evangel University (27-2, 21-1 KCAC). The appearance in the NAIA National Championship tournament is the eighth in program history for the Drovers, and it's their sixth trip in the last eight seasons.
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Each First & Second Round site will feature four teams in the first two rounds of a single elimination tournament. The winner of each four-team site will advance to Sioux City, Iowa, and the Tyson Events Center, for the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship Final Site March 19-24.
All 48 games in the 2026 First & Second Round will air live on Urban Edge Network. For links to mobile and smart TV apps, visit NAIA.org/Watch.
The Drovers finished in fifth place during the Sooner Athletic Conference regular season and had their SAC Tournament run stifled in the quarterfinals, while the Valor were champions of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season and KCAC Tournament. They also locked up an automatic bid into the national tournament as a host site.
On the other side of the four-team bracket is the host and No. 5 seed William Carey (24-5, 12-5 SSAC) and they will face No. 12 seed Shawnee State University (22-8, 12-4 RSC).
William Carey (Miss.) was the tournament champion of the Southern States Athletic Conference, while Shawnee State (Ohio) was the regular season champion of the East Division in the River State Conference. The winner of each of the Opening Round contests will face on Saturday, March 14.
EVANGELIA DAVLAKOU – 2nd TEAM ALL-SAC
This season, Davlakou led the Drovers with 15.5 points per game, and ranked fourth in the SAC in assists per game (3.8). She also averaged 4.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game.
The SAC selected Davlakou as the league's Offensive Player of the Week on two occasions this season.
In her career at USAO, Davlakou has produced a pair of all-conference selections with a total of 842 points, 257 rebounds, 203 assists, and 107 steals in 55 games played over the last two seasons.
CHANIYA FELTON – ALL-SAC HONORABLE MENTION & SAC ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Chaniya Felton was one of the most tenacious defenders in the SAC this season and one of the league's defensive players. Felton accrued 19 more steals, and only nine fewer rebounds than the player selected from Langston…. Felton averaged 3.9 rebounds and 3.3 steals per game, while the "winner" averaged 4.2 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game.
This season, Felton tallied 306 points, 112 rebounds, and 97 steals to earn her first All-SAC selection.
NYAPAR MATHOT – ALL-SAC HONORABLE MENTION
Mathot elevated her impact when Hannah Harris went down with a season ending injury and concluded the season with 300 points, 238 rebounds, 36 assists, 34 steals, and 18 blocks in 29 games played.
PASHONNAY JOHNSON – ALL-SAC HONORABLE MENTION
Johnson appeared in 16 games, tallying 170 points, 53 rebounds, 18 assists, and 10 steals to earn her first All-SAC honor.
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