ALEXANDRIA, LA – The nine-seed Louisiana State University of Alexandria women's basketball team takes on eight-seed Benedictine College (Kan.) in the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship First Round at Crisp Arena on the campus of Bethel University (Tenn.) in McKenzie, Tenn.
"So very proud of our team and being able to play in the National Championship," LSUA Head Coach Billy Perkins said. "Benedictine College is going to be a tough matchup. They are fundamentally very good and play complimentary basketball. It should be a good game."
The Generals (23-8, 18-6 RRAC) reached the Red River Athletic Conference final before falling 54-51 to LSU Shreveport. This is the second time the Purple and Gold have made the National Championship, the first coming in the 2018-19 season. The Generals won their First Round matchup against Westmont, 70-59, but fell to Lewis-Clark State College in the Second Round, 69-66.
SCOUTING BENEDICTINE (KAN.)
The Ravens are 24-7 on the season and finished with an 18-6 record in the Heart of America Conference. They are 10-4 on the road and 1-1 in neutral site games. The Ravens have won their last three games.
It is the second straight year and 14
th time in program history Benedictine has advanced to the tournament. The Ravens punched their ticket after winning the Heart Women's Basketball Championship Game over Midamerica Nazarene, 65-51.
In last year's First Round, the Ravens fell 67-57 to Concordia (Neb.) in overtime.
Benedictine averages 73.5 points per game and is shooting 42.6% from the field as a team. They average 17.8 assists per game.
Lauryn Dubbert leads the Ravens in scoring at 13.7 points per game. The senior guard is shooting 45.2% from the field and 36.4% from deep. At the free throw line, Dubbert has knocked down 83.7% of her chances. Dubbert also leads the Ravens with 129 assists. Josie Weishaar averages 13.2 points per game and is shooting 45.1% from the floor with a 36.8% success rate from beyond the arc. At the free throw line, Weishaar is just as dangerous as Dubbert at 89.1%. Jennifer Jacobs rounds out the Raven's double-digit scorers at 10.3 points per game. She is converting 52. 2% of her shots on the season, nearly all of them coming from inside the three-point line. Leading the Ravens at the free throw line is senior Kennedy Nicholson, knocking down 93.5% of her chances. She averages 9.2 points per game.
The Ravens haul-in an average of 43.8 rebounds per game and hold a margin on +10.8 on their opponents. Defensively, Benedictine allows just 60.4 points, a margin of +13.1. Weishaar leads Benedictine with an average of 6.4 boards per game. Jacobs, a senior forward, is close behind at 6.2 rebounds per game. Dubbert leads the Ravens with 60 steals, nearly double the total of the next closest player. Power forwards Carmen Morales and Riley Rottinghaus lead the Ravens with 29 blocks each.
Friday's First Round game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
FAN INFORMATION
Tickets to the game at Crisp Arena can be purchased
HERE. Tickets are $10 for General Admission and $5 for persons 18 years of age and younger.
A pay-per-view live stream of the game is available
HERE.
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For the latest on women's basketball, visit LSUAGenerals.com or follow the team's social media accounts: @LSUA_WBB (X) or @LSUA_wbb (IG and Threads).
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LSUA Athletics previews are proudly presented by Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers.
