Point Lookout, MO – (5) Cedarville University joined the top three seeds of (1) College of the Ozarks, (2) Bethel University, and (3) Sterling College in earning double-digit victories to advance to the NCCAA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship semifinals. Action continues tomorrow with a pair of consolation game at noon CT before semifinal play begins at 7 p.m. CT. Follow all the action here.

Game One: #2 Bethel University – 80 #7 Asbury University - 49

• The first game of the 2026 NCCAA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championships opened with a fast start from Asbury University. Ma’Kiya West hit a three to put the Eagles on top 6-2 three minutes into the game. 
• Bethel would respond with eight straight points to take a 10-6 lead. Olivia Nickerson capped the run with a three of her own as the deep ball was falling for both sides early and often. Neither side would lead by more than four the remainder of the first quarter, as Asbury held the 14-13 edge. 
• The second quarter saw both sides trade buckets the entirety of the 10 minutes. Bethel would score the final four points of the quarter to lead 33-29 at halftime. The two sides attempted 28 first half threes with nine combined finding the net. Bethel held the slight field goal percentage edge at 45.2% in the first half. 
• The Pilots would continue their end of first half run into the second half, scoring the first 15 points of the third quarter to pull away. Olivia Nickerson would hit back-to-back threes to help Bethel advance their lead to 48-29. Asbury would call a timeout with 4:49 remaining in the third quarter, yet to score in the period. 
• The timeout would not slow the Pilots down. They continued the run to score 20 consecutive points before the Eagles found a third quarter point. Olivia Nickerson led the team with 18 points through three quarters as Bethel held a 61-34 advantage. 
• Bethel would end the game outscoring Asbury 47-20 in the second half to cruise to tomorrow’s semifinals with an 80-49 victory. 

Game Two: #3 Sterling College – 78 #6 Southwestern Christian University - 62

• The second quarterfinal of the day started with stifling defense as neither side could find a rhythm through the first seven minutes. A Sterling three from Rori Miles would give the Warriors a 9-4 advantage with 2:12 remaining in the first quarter. 
• Both teams shot under 30% in the first quarter as Sterling held a 12-7 advantage. 
• Sterling woke up offensively in the second quarter, hitting five of their first seven field goals to balloon their edge to 13. Southwestern Christian would respond with just enough offense to stay within striking distance at halftime. The Eagles trailed 34-24 at the break while shooting 31.0% from the field. 
• With 6:49 to play in the third quarter, Sterling would see Karlee Jacobs hit a big three that gave them their largest lead of the game at 15, 41-26. Jacobs became the fifth Sterling player to hit a three in the game, all five players sinking just one. 
• The Warriors defense led to offense later in the third, hitting another three in addition to a fast break layup from McKenna Vogl to give Sterling an 18-point edge. Chrissen Harland would respond with a bucket for the Eagles before Southwestern Christian took a timeout trailing 46-30. 
• Chrissen Harland would hit a three at the third quarter buzzer to make the Eagles deficit 61-46 with 10 minutes to play. 
• Sterling would maintain a double-digit lead throughout the fourth quarter, increasing the advantage to as large as 20 to advance to the NCCAA Division II Women’s Basketball semifinals with a 78-62 win. 

Game Three: #1 College of the Ozarks - 104 #8 Paine College - 42

• Top seed College of the Ozarks did not waste any time getting out to a big lead, outscoring Paine College 36-11 in the first quarter. After scoring just two points in the first two and a half minutes, the Bobcats scored 34 in the final six and a half minutes of the period. The team shot over 70% from the field in the quarter and saw 12 points from Logan Jones. 
• In the second quarter, Ozarks would continue to find their stride. The Bobcats used defense to lead to offense, seeing nine of 10 players that played score by halftime. Logan Jones hit the final Ozarks bucket of the half to increase their lead to 57-19 at the break. 
• The red-hot Logan Jones would add back-to-back layups in the third quarter to score her 25^th point of the game as Ozarks increased their lead to 49, 74-25. 
• Morgan Mattingley became the 10^th Ozarks player to score, doing so in the fourth quarter to help the Bobcats see all players find at least one bucket. Top-seeded Ozarks would secure the dominant 104-42 victory to secure a spot in tomorrow’s semifinals. 

Game Four: #5 Cedarville University - 80 #4 Houghton University - 45

• Despite the late-night tip, Cedarville started the game with a ton of energy. The Yellow Jackets held Houghton scoreless through the first two and a half minutes of play to open the game on a 5-0 run. 
• Emma Kay Martin and Cait Behling would later combine for back-to-back threes for Cedarville to increase their first quarter edge to 13-5. 
• Emma Kay Martin would score 11 of Cedarville’s 19 points in the first quarter, as the Yellow Jackets led 19-9. 
• Houghton could not find an answer for the Cedarville defense, recording seven turnovers in the first 12 minutes of play. Cedarville scored the first 17 points of the second quarter, highlighted by a Ella Sellars three to make it 36-9 before Houghton would use a timeout.
• After the timeout, Cedarville would rattle off four more points to open the quarter on a 21-0 run. Houghton’s Crysta LaCrosse ended the run with an and-one bucket that cut the deficit to 28. 
• At the half, Cedarville would hold a 51-14 lead behind a 52.4% field goal percentage and a 46.2% three-point percentage. 
• In the second half, Houghton fared much better outscoring Cedarville 15-4 to start the third quarter. Teghan Trocki hit the Highlanders first three of the game with 5:54 to play in the third to help Houghton cut into the deficit to 55-29. 
• Despite the comeback effort from Houghton in the third, they were unable to overcome the first half as Cedarville would go on to earn an 80-45 quarterfinal victory to end the night. 

About the NCCAA
Established in 1968, the National Christian College Athletic Association uses intercollegiate athletics to further the Great Commission and is committed to equipping student-athletes and coaches to make a positive impact for Christ. The NCCAA currently holds 23 national championship events, along with one national invitational for 88 member schools across 28 states and two Canadian provinces. For more information on the NCCAA, visit our website, thenccaa.org, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram at @thenccaa.