LAKELAND, Fla. — Southeastern Women's Basketball will open play in the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship First & Second Rounds with a matchup against host Faulkner on Friday, March 13, in Montgomery, Alabama.
The Fire earned the No. 6 seed in the Duer Bracket, one of four 16-team opening-round brackets in the national tournament, and will face No. 11-seed Faulkner. Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m. ET.
The other first-round game in the bracket will feature No. 3-seed Lindsey Wilson against No. 14-seed Williams Baptist. The two winners will meet on Saturday, March 14, with a berth to the national championship final site on the line.
The final site of the 2026 NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship will be held March 19–24 at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.
SEU enters the national tournament with a 27-3 overall record and is currently riding a 13-game winning streak. The Fire secured their national tournament berth by winning both the Sun Conference regular-season and tournament championships, finishing league play with a 15-1 conference record.
SEU has been dominant across all venues this season, posting a 17-1 home record, an 8-1 mark on the road, and going 2-1 in neutral-site games.
Faulkner enters the national tournament with a 21-8 overall record after reaching the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals. The Eagles finished second in the SSAC regular-season standings with a 13-4 conference record and earned an at-large bid to the national tournament. Faulkner has been particularly strong at home this season, compiling a 12-1 record in Montgomery.
Southeastern holds a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series with Faulkner and has won each of the last three meetings between the programs. The most recent matchup came in the SEU season opener on Nov. 1, 2025, when the Fire edged the Eagles 60-58 in Lakeland.
The 2026 appearance marks the 10th NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship appearance in program history for Southeastern. The Fire have made several deep runs in the tournament, highlighted by a national runner-up finish in 2019 and quarterfinal appearances in 2017 and 2018.
NAIA National Tournament Appearances
- 2014-15 — First Round
- 2015-16 — First Round
- 2016-17 — National Quarterfinal
- 2017-18 — National Quarterfinal
- 2018-19 — National Final
- 2019-20 — Second Round (Tournament canceled after first round games)
- 2021-22 — Second Round
- 2023-24 — First Round
- 2024-25 — First Round
