Indianapolis, IN (March 2, 2026) - The DeSales University women's basketball team will be traveling West to take on Ohio Wesleyan University in the NCAA Division III Tournament First Round on Friday evening as announced by the NCAA Division III women's basketball committee on Monday afternoon.

The Bulldogs (19-8) will be taking on the weekend host, Ohio Wesleyan University (20-5), in the first round on Friday evening with game time set for 7:15 pm. Washington University (MO) (19-6) will take on SUNY-Geneseo (20-10) in the other first round matchup at 4:45 pm on Friday. The two winners will then square off on Saturday evening at 7:15 pm with the winner advancing to the "Sweet 16" the following weekend.

DeSales is making its 18th trip to the NCAA Tournament and its seventh since the 2017 season after winning the MAC Freedom Championship on Saturday with a 59-51 win over Stevens. DSU has been to the "Sweet 16" twice since the brackets were expanded in 2008 and 2019.  Overall the Bulldogs are 10-17 all-time in the tournament.

Head coach Fred Richter is in his 36th season having just won his 700th career game in DSU's championship game win on Saturday becoming the 13th coach to win 700 career games in NCAA Division III women's basketball coaching history and the 48th coach to win 700 games in women's basketball among all Divisions. He boasts a career record of 700-273 (.719) entering the tournament.  He has led DeSales to 16 of its 18 NCAA Tournament appearances and has helped DSU win 15 conference championships (2 PAC, 13 MAC Freedom).

Seniors Linday Bednarek and Mikaili Donmoyer lead the Bulldogs in scoring averaging 14.3 and 10.3 points per game as the only two players averaging double digits. Sophomore Aubrey Pollard is third on the team in scoring at 9.4 points per game and second in rebounding at 7.2 boards per game. Sophomore Kayla Ishigami is averaging 8.0 points per game and senior Sammi White leads the team on the glass averaging 7.4 rebounds per game and has a team-best 54 blocks this season.

Click here to view the full 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Field of 64.