Eastern Oregon University’s Maddy Juul (20) pushes toward the basket Jan. 21, 2022, at Quinn Coliseum, La Grande. The EOU women’s basketball heads to Park City, Kansas, to play in the national tournament beginning Friday, March 11.

LA GRANDE — Nothing is ever a given in college basketball, but the Mountaineers can now breathe a sigh of relief and continue on with their season.

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics announced its women’s national tournament field on Thursday, March 3, rewarding the Eastern Oregon University women’s basketball team with an at-large bid. The Mountaineers earned a No. 13 seed in the bracket and will face Sterling College (Kansas) in the opening round.

Eastern compiled a 22-10 record on the year and went 18-4 in conference play, but a loss to Southern Oregon in the Cascade Collegiate Conference semifinals put the team’s fate up in the air. The team earned a spot among 64 of the top women’s basketball teams in the NAIA.

The Mountaineers will travel to Park City, Kansas, where three total matchups will be played. Eastern is set to face Sterling College (31-2), a No. 4 seed in the tournament. The winner of the matchup between the Mountaineers and Warriors will face either Dordt or Indiana University East.

All three games are set to be played at Park City’s Hartman Arena in Park City — the site also served as the location for the NAIA Men’s Wrestling National Championship. Tip-off times are yet to be announced by the NAIA, but both first-round matchups will take place on March 11. The winners will have a quick turnaround and play again on March 12.

This season marked Eastern’s first trip back to the national tournament since the 2018-19 season. The Mountaineers have made the tournament 13 times in the program’s history, 12 of which came under head coach Anji Weissenfluh.

The matchup with Sterling is the first time that the two schools have met in women’s basketball. The Warriors were ranked No. 12 in the latest NAIA poll and finished the season as Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference champions.

Information regarding updated tip-off times will be included in The Observer’s sports schedule, while game coverage will be provided at lagrandeobserver.com.