Ohio Valley Women’s Tournament Preview

Relative newcomers enter the tournament as the top seeds with Western Illinois, Lindenwood and Southern Indiana sitting first, second and third. The Lions and Screaming Eagles are eying their first crowns at the Division-I level. The tourney tips off on Wednesday, March 4 as only the top eight teams in the standings qualified.

First Round – Wednesday, March 4
Game 1 – #5 Little Rock vs. #8 Southeast Missouri, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 2 – #6 UT Martin vs. #7 SIUE, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)

Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 5
Game 3 – #4 Morehead State vs. Winner of Game 1, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 4 – #3 Southern Indiana vs. Winner of Game 2, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)

Semifinals – Friday, March 6
Game 5 – #1Western Illinois vs. Game 3 Winner, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 6 – #2 Lindenwood vs. Game 4 Winner, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)

Championship – Saturday, March 7
Game 7 – Semifinal Winners, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)

(All times Central)

1. Western Illinois (16-4, 24-5 overall)

The Leathernecks have been in the conference just three years, but this is by far their best campaign by turning a combined 17-21 mark in OVC play the last two years into 16-4 this year. Western Illinois has the top scoring offense in the conference behind the league’s leading scorer and second leading rebounder in Mia Nicastro.

2. Lindenwood (16-4, 24-7 overall)

Year No. 4 in Division I for Lindenwood has not disappointed with a second straight top-two finish and eight straight wins heading into the tournament. The Lions lost in the title game in 2025 and went to the WNIT Super 16 but would love to cut down the nets this season.

3. Southern Indiana (14-6, 20-9 overall)

Like Lindenwood, Southern Indiana is in its fourth season at the Division-I level. The Screaming Eagles’ success this year can be tied to its OVC-leading defense and Ali Saunders ranking as one of the top three scorers in the conference.

4. Morehead State (13-7, 18-13 overall)

Ashton Feldhaus led a big turnaround for the Eagles as they nearly tripled their win total in the OVC from a season ago.

5. Little Rock (11-9, 15-15 overall)

Jordan Holman has powered the Trojan offense and ranks in the top three in the league in scoring. She looks to guide Little Rock to its first OVC tournament win since losing in the 2023 title game.

6. UT Martin (9-11, 13-16 overall)

The Skyhawks rely heavily on their top players as Brittani Wells and Kenley McCarn lead the OVC in minutes played and Sidni Middleton is also top 10.

7. SIUE (8-12, 15-15 overall)

The Cougars have won double digit games for the first time since 2021-22.

8. Southeast Missouri (8-12, 12-17 overall)

Kearra Jones and Ainaya Williams are each averaging better than one block per game, which puts them top five in the conference.