DELAWARE, Ohio – This weekend the Messiah University women's basketball team will travel to Ohio Wesleyan University for the Opening Weekend of the NCAA Tournament. The Falcons will take on the Presidents of Washington and Jefferson College on Friday, March 7 at 4:00 p.m. The host school Ohio Wesleyan will take on Immaculata in the other first round game at 6:30 p.m. The winners of each game will play in the second round on Saturday, March 8 at 6:30 p.m.
Attention fans, tickets prices are $15 for adults and $10 for senior and students. All tickets are cash only and are available at the gate.
Check out the 2025 Division III NCAA Women's Basketball Opening Weekend preview below.
No. 24 Messiah University Falcons
The Falcons enter the NCAA Tournament with an 25-2 overall record and 14-0 record in MAC Commonwealth play. The Falcons earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with their 16th conference championship over Widener. The Falcons only two losses on the season came against No. 12 Gettysburg and No. 15 Catholic. The Falcons enter the tournament on fire with 18 straight wins. The Falcons are 11-2 away from Messiah this season.
The Falcons offense finished third in the MAC Commonwealth with 64.4 points per game. The Falcons offense though was efficient, with the highest field goal percentage in conference at 42.3 percent. The Falcons defense though led the team throughout the entire season. The Falcons led the MAC Commonwealth in scoring defense allowing only 46 points per game. The Falcons are also ranked second in scoring defense in the entire country and are first in three-point defense, allowing opponents to shoot only 18.5 percent from behind the arc.
Players to Watch
#25
Reese Harden: 15.1 PPG, 3.1 REB/G, 90 assists, 41 steals, 27 blocks
#23
Liv Monturo: 13.6 PPG, 6.8 REB/G, 33 steals, 30 assists, 18 blocks
#20
Chloe Milanesi: 9.8 PPG, 6.3 REB/G, 91 steals, 55 assists, 17 blocks
#1
Charlotte Milanesi: 6.1 PPG, 4.3 REB/G, 81 assists, 53 steals
#14
Hope Cook: 5.1 PPG, 1.1 REB/G, 20 assists, 11 steals
#11
EmmyFaith Wood: 5.1 PPG, 2.3 REB/G, 50 assists, 23 steals
Washington and Jefferson Presidents
The Presidents enter the NCAA Tournament with a 23-4 overall record and a 18-2 record in PAC play. The Presidents earned an automatic bid to the tournament with a win over Chatham in the PAC Championship Game. The Presidents come into tournament play with a 9-3 record on the road this season.
The Presidents enter the tournament with the 28th best scoring offense in the country, averaging 74.1 points per game. The Presidents shot 42 percent from the field, but are one of the top free throw shooting teams in the country, finishing third with 78.2 percent from the line. The Presidents defense allowed 55.9 points per game, but they were strong on the board, finishing 17th in defensive rebounds per game with 30.9.
Players to Watch
#3 Stellanie Loutsion: 13.3 PPG, 3.1 REB/G, 64 assists, 33 steals, 20 blocks
#14 Katie Kovalchick:11.4 PPG, 4.5 REB/G, 34 assists, 25 steals, and 20 blocks
#1 Bryn Bezjak: 9.4 PPG, 2.0 REB/G, 47 assists, 20 steals
#10 Adalynn Cherry: 8.9 PPG, 5.3 REB/G, 60 assists, 33 steals, and 11 blocks
#23 Meghan Dryburgh: 8.7 PPG, 12.3 REB/G, 88 assists, 49 steals, 39 blocks
#5 Riley DeBubbo: 7.6 PPG, 2.3 REB/G, 17 assists, 12 steals
History Against Messiah
The Falcons and Presidents have met two times before, with the Falcons winning both matchups. The last match up between the two teams was in 2005.
No. 18 Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops
The Battling Bishops enter the NCAA Tournament with a 23-3 overall record and a 14-0 record in NCAC play. The Battling Bishops earned an at-large bid after falling to Wittenberg in the NCAC Tournament. The Battling Bishops have a 10-1 record at home this season.
The Battling Bishops have a top 40 scoring offense in the country averaging 72.5 points per game. Ohio Wesleyan though was one of the most efficient offenses in the country entering the tournament 12th in field goal percentage, shooting 45.1 percent from the field and having the third-ranked assist to turnover ratio in the country with 1.34. The Battling Bishops defense was also one of the best in the country with 49.7 points allowed per game, which ranked 13th in the country.
Players to Watch
#11 Kasey Schipfer: 19.5 PPG, 6.3 REB/G, 54 steals, 48 assists
#45 Macy Miller: 16.2 PPG, 8.6 REB/G, 76 steals, 53 assists, 31 blocks
#44 Lauren Denison: 8.4 PPG, 2.8 REB/G, 52 assists, 29 steals
#24 Elizabeth Homan: 8.0 PPG, 3.5 REB/G, 194 assists, 70 steals
#42 Karlee Ross: 6.8 PPG, 4.4 REB/G, 35 steals, 34 assists
#21 Mia Guscoff: 4.6 PPG, 1.0 REB/G, 13 steals, 10 assists
History Against Messiah
The Falcons and Battling Bishops have never met.
Immaculata Mighty Macs
The Mighty Macs enter the NCAA Tournament with a 22-3 overall record and a 10-0 record in Atlantic East play. The Mighty Macs earned an automatic bid into the tournament after winning the Atlantic East Championship game over Neumann University. The Mighty Macs enter the tournament with an 8-3 record on the road this season.
The Mighty Macs enter the tournament with a top 40 scoring offense in the country with 72.6 points per game. The Immaculata offense enter the tournament making the 16th most free throws per game with 14.88 free throws per game. The Mighty Macs defense allowed 56.4 points per game this season. The Mighty Macs entered the tournament finishing top 30 in blocks per game (4.8) and steals per game (12.9).
Players to Watch
#25 Reese Mullins: 15.4 PPG, 7.6 REB/G, 49 assists, 43 steals, 10 blocks
#22 Carly Coleman; 10.4 PPG, 8.9 REB/G, 60 assists, 54 steals, 30 blocks
#3 Tessa Liberatoscioli: 10.0 PPG, 5.0 REB/G, 89 steals, 58 assists, 24 blocks
#4 Abigail Boyer: 9.9 PPG, 3.2 REB/G, 67 assists, 44 steals
#5 Riley Cassidy: 7.8 PPG, 2.4 REB/G, 21 assists, 12 steals
#33 Olivia Ettorre: 7.6 PPG, 2.6 REB/G, 33 assists, 23 blocks, 15 steals
History Against Messiah
The Falcons and Mighty Macs have only met one time before. The Falcons earned the win in 2022 with a score of 61-52.
