The UW-River Falls women's basketball team opens NCAA Tournament play on Friday, March 6, taking on Ripon College in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. at Memorial Auditorium on the campus of Concordia College.

NCAA TOURNAMENT – FIRST ROUND
UW-RIVER FALLS (16-11, 8-6 WIAC) VS RIPON (25-2, 16-0 MWC)
Date: Friday, March 6
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Site: Moorhead, Minn. // Memorial Auditorium
Coverage: Watch // Live Stats // Tickets



The Falcons enter the tournament at 16-11 overall after earning an at-large bid, marking the program's sixth NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2016. UWRF finished 8-6 in WIAC play during the regular season, highlighted by four wins over nationally ranked opponents and a regular-season finale victory over UW-Whitewater that secured home-court advantage for the WIAC Tournament. River Falls defeated UW-Platteville in the first round before falling to top-seeded UW-Oshkosh in the semifinals.

THE SERIES

• Friday's matchup will be just the second meeting all-time between UW-River Falls and Ripon. The Red Hawks defeated the Falcons 76-72 in overtime in the lone previous meeting on Nov. 12, 2021, played at a neutral site in Eau Claire, Wis.

FALCON NOTES

• Offensively, the Falcons average 58.1 points per game while knocking down 7.2 three-pointers per contest. 
• The Falcons landed three athletes with postseason WIAC awards. Zoey Buchan etched her second consecutive first-team selection, Emily Anderson picked up her first honorable mention honor in rookie season while senior Karleigh Creasey was the All-Sportsmanship award recipient for the Falcons. 
• Senior Zoey Buchan leads the way at 14.4 points per game, shooting 37.9 percent from beyond the arc and 83.5 percent from the free-throw line. 
• Freshman Emily Anderson adds 9.0 points per game and has connected on a team-high 47 three-pointers. 
• Jocelyn Plonski contributes 5.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest, while Olivia Boily adds 5.5 points and 4.6 rebounds off the bench.
• Defensively, UWRF allows just 57.5 points per game and forces 15.3 turnovers per contest. The Falcons have totaled 201 steals this season and hold opponents to 28.2 percent shooting from three-point range.

The winner of Friday's contest will remain in Moorhead to face the winner of UW-Superior and host Concordia-Moorhead in the second round on Saturday evening.