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News Brief

March 22, 2024ST. JOSEPH, Mo.

"Elite" week of basketball returns to St. Joseph

St. Joseph will host the NCAA Division 2 Women's Basketball Elite Eight tournament next week.

The NCAA Division 2 Women's Basketball Elite Eight begins at noon on Monday. (Photo courtesy St. Joseph Sports Commission)

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The pinnacle of NCAA Division 2 Women's Basketball returns to St. Joseph next week as the city gets set to host the Elite Eight beginning on Monday.

This is the second straight year that the Elite Eight will be played at the Civic Arena, but the first time the national championship game will be played in St. Joe since 2011.

"Every institution in division 2 at the women's basketball level has been trying to get to St. Joseph, Missouri," Brett Esely, director of the St. Joseph Sports Commission, said. "It's pretty cool when that's the goal collectively across the country."

The eight regional winners making the trek to the Civic Arena include Gannon University (PA), California State University San Marcos, Daemen University, Ferris State University (MI), Georgia Southwestern State University, Minnesota State University-Mankato, Texas Woman's University, and the University of Tampa (FL).

With the matchups set and the arrival of teams just hours away, Esely says it is time to roll out the red carpet for the visitors coming to St. Joseph, which range from alumni and fans, to NCAA officials and the CBS crew putting on the national telecast.

"Now we put the finishing touches not only on the venue, but the community to make it championship-ready. We feel good about that. When the teams arrive in town on Saturday it's definitely going to look and feel that way."

The Elite Eight will be played Monday, March 25 with the first session featuring two games beginning at noon, followed by session two at 6pm.

The national semifinal round is slated for Wednesday, March 27 with a 6pm tip-off for the opener, and the second game beginning at 8:30pm.

The NCAA Division 2 Women's Basketball National Championship will be played Friday, March 29 at 7pm.

Ticket information for each session is here.

Quarterfinals – Monday, March 25, 2024
Session One:
12 PM – #3 Ferris State – 25-5 vs. #6 Tampa – 31-6
2:30 PM – #2 Texas Woman’s – 32-4 vs. #7 Daemen – 23-7

Session Two:
6 PM – #1 Gannon – 35-2 vs. #8 Cal State San Marcos – 26-6
8:30 PM – #4 Georgia Southwestern – 29-3 vs. #5 Minnesota State – 29-5

Semifinals – Wednesday, March 27, 2024
6 PM – 3/6 winner vs. 2/7 winner
8:30 PM – 1/8 winner vs. 4/5 winner

National Championship Game – Friday, March 29, 2024
7 PM

Ticket prices:
All-Session Pass Adult: $40 (good for all seven games of the tournament)
Single Session Adult Ticket: $20 (good for any one session – two games)
Single Session Youth/Senior/Student Ticket: $10 (good for any one session – two games)
National Championship Game Single Game Price: Adult $15, Youth/Student/Senior – $5