The Three Rivers women’s basketball team and Raider nation found out Sunday where in the NJCAA National Tournament bracket they would be starting and they didn’t have to wait long.
The Raiders earned the top seed in the tournament and will play at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 17, in Lubbock, Texas.
The Raiders have been the top ranked team in the national polls for the past six weeks and enter the tournament at 28-0.
“I thought we deserved to be the No. 1 seed,” Three Rivers coach Alex Wiggs said. “The girls have put in the work this season and we’ve played teams like Wabash Valley, Vincennes and Moberly that are talented and I felt we were up there with the best teams in the nation.”
Shortly after all 24 spots were filled, NJCAA Women’s Basketball Chairman and State Fair Athletic Director Darren Pannier had some bulletin board material for the Lady Raiders on the selection show live stream.
“We’ve seen a lot of undefeated teams go into the national tournament,” he said. “But unfortunately not all of them make it to the championship game.”
The Raiders didn’t take too kindly to it.
“What we just watched him say will be a motivation for us,” Myia Yelder said. “I was kind of shocked he took a shot at us like that.”
The last time an undefeated national champion was 2012 when top-seeded Trinity Valley (Texas) won the first of three straight titles.
Since the tournament went the current format in 2013, the top-seeded team has won the title in four of eight seasons but has not made the final since 2017.
Last year, Jones (Miss.) lost its first game by three points to No. 16 Western Nebraska.
The Raiders will have a first-round bye and will face the winner between No. 16 Chipola (Fla.) and No. 17 Tyler (Texas).
Chipola and Three Rivers both reached the final four last year. The Raiders, who were seeded ninth, lost to eventual champion Northwest Florida State while third-seeded Chipola lost to Trinity Valley.
Northwest Florida State earned the No. 4 seed while Wabash Valley (Ill.) is seeded fifth on the same side of the bracket as Three Rivers. A win Thursday puts the Raiders into the quarterfinals against either eighth-seeded Arizona Western, ninth-seeded South Georgia Tech or Monroe, the No. 24 seed.
Three Rivers is making its fifth appearance in the women’s national tournament and third in the last four seasons.
Watching the selection show with the team and fans at the Libla Family Sports Complex, athletic director and men’s basketball coach Brian Bess said these Raiders are “certainly a special team.”
“It’s amazing what Coach Wiggs has done in just his second year as head coach and they are the hardest working Lady Raider basketball team I’ve seen,” Bess said.
Also in attendance was Three Rivers President Dr. Wesley Payne.
“They’ve got a lot of community support,” Payne said. “A lot of that has to do with the girls themselves. They’re out in the community going to schools, reading to kids. They’ve built a fan club and it’s incredible the impact they have off the court as well as on it.”
Elsewhere in the field, Moberly Area was selected as the 15th seed and will play 12th seed Eastern Florida State.
The Raiders will depart Poplar Bluff next weekend to make the 16-hour bus ride to Lubbock. The tournament will tip off on March 16 and the championship trophy will be hoisted on March 21.
Games can be viewed online at www.njcaa.org for $10 a day or $30 for the entire tournament.
NJCAA WOMEN'S DIVISION I TOURNAMENT
At Rip Griffin Center, Lubbock, Texas
Wednesday, March 16
Chipola, Fla. (23-8) vs. Tyler, Texas (23-8), 10 a.m.
South Ga. Tech (26-6) vs. Monroe, NY (14-14), 12 p.m.
Moberly Area (26-5) vs. Eastern Fla. (26-4), 2 p.m.
New Mexico (26-4) vs. Jones, Miss. (22-7) 4 p.m.
South Plains, Texas (20-8) vs. N.Dakota SCS (30-2), 6 p.m.
Western Neb. (27-2) vs. Murray St., Okla. (27-5), 8 p.m.
Thursday, March 17
Casper, Wyo. (28-4) vs. Hutchinson, Kan. (28-5), 10 a.m.
Trinity Valley, Texas (25-6) vs. Walters St., Tenn. (19-6), 12 p.m.
Second Round
Three Rivers (28-0) vs. Chipola-Tyler winner, 2 p.m.
Arizona Western (29-2) vs. S.Ga.Tech-Monroe winner, 4 p.m.
Shelton St., Ala. (29-1) vs. Moberly Area-Eastern Fla. winner, 6 p.m.
Blinn vs. New Mexico-Jones winner, 8 p.m.
Friday, March 18
Northwest Fla. St. (27-2) vs. S.Plains-N.D. SCS winner, 1 p.m.
Wabash Valley, Ill. (28-1) vs. Western Neb.-Murray St. winner, 3 p.m.
Ga. Highlands (29-2) vs. Casper-Hutchinson winner, 5 p.m.
Southern Idaho (30-2) vs. Trinity Valley-Walters St. winner, 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 19
Quarterfinals, 1, 3, 5, 7 p.m.
Sunday, March 20
Semifinals, 4, 6 p.m.
Monday, March 21
Championship, 7 p.m.
Robert Augsdorfer - Daily American Republic