MADISON, SOUTH DAKOTA – March has arrived, and Grand View women's basketball is gearing up for the madness of Tournament Basketball. The 5th-seeded Grand View women's basketball team (27-4, 20-4 HOA) travels to the Dakotas for the NAIA National Championship Opening Round to face Indiana South Bend for the first time in program history.
 
GAME INFORMATION
(5) GRAND VIEW UNIVERSITY (27-4, 20-4 HOA) vs (12) IU SOUTH BEND (30-1, 19-1 CCAC)
Date: Friday, March 15 // Time: 5:30 p.m.
Location: Madison, S.D. (DSU Fieldhouse)
Watch: https://shorturl.at/qDPR2 // Listen: https://shorturl.at/wGILS

 
LAST TIME OUT

• The Vikings concluded their Heart of America tenure with their first Heart of America Conference Tournament Championship, where they defeated Benedictine College, 65-62.
• The Win clinched an automatic bid into the 43^rd Annual NAIA National Championship series, securing GVU one of its highest seeds at a five.
• GVU's win avenged a previous Sisam Arena loss to the Ravens, pulling them ahead in the series 2-1.
• The Vikings shot 57.14% from 3-point land, finishing 40% overall from 3.

 
SCOUTING IU SOUTH BEND

• The Titans are Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament (CCAC) Champions and regular season champions.  
• IU South Bend makes their 8^th NAIA National Championship Appearance.
• South Bend averages 83.0 ppg, outscoring their opponents by 23.7 points.
• All four of the five Titan starters averaged 30 minutes + a contest, with the fifth at 29.3 minutes a game.
• The Titans get out to fast starts, scoring 718 total first-quarter points, their highest-scoring quarter all season.
• Tenleigh Phelps is the Titan's go-to for most things, starting in all 31 contests; the Youngstown State University transfer is a 5-11 guard who averages 20 ppg and 7.9 rebounds. Phelps is also the Titans' second-team leader in turnovers, with 84.

 
THE TRIO

• The Vikings' three statistical leaders have been coming together at the perfect time in the season. Sophomore Anna Gossling and Juniors Cleao Murray and Ella Larsen have proved to be hard to contain.  
• The trio has scored 1,523 points this season out of a total of 2385. The three average 49 of the Vikings' 76.94 points per game.
• Larsen has posted 15 double doubles this season. The HM All-American from last season averages 8.7 rebounds a game and 15.4 points.
• Gossling is the Viking's 3-point sharpshooter; she sits ninth in the country for a three-pointer percentage at 45%. Gossling has also shot the third-highest amount, proving her volume.  
• Murray is in the top 20 in scoring; she totals 589 points and leads GVU with 19 a game at all scoring levels.

VIKINGS IN THE NAIA TOURNEY

• This is the Vikings 11^th National Championship Series Appearance (1997,1998, 2003, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024).  
• The Vikings hold a 9-10 record in the tournament for a .474-win percentage.
• 2012 is the Vikings best finish where they made it to the quarterfinals of the Tournament before falling to Concordia (NE), 80-68.