Just eight teams remain in the DII women's basketball championship. Play now heads to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where the DII Women's Elite Eight will determine the next national champion at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. You can stream all the action from March 24-28 on ESPN+.
DII WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HUB
We have quite an interesting field in this year's DII Women's Elite Eight. On one side, you have one of the winningest teams in DII women's basketball history in Lubbock Christian. On the other side, you have historic runs and DII Women's Elite Eight debuts from schools like Coker. Only Gannon returns from last year, and the Golden Knights do so in impressive form, winning each of their first three games by double digits.
Here are some facts to know about each of the remaining teams in the DII Women's Elite Eight.
The DII women's Elite Eight by the numbers
| Stats (per game) | Bentley | CSUDH | Coker | Gannon | GVSU | LCU | Pitt. St. | Union |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record | 33-1 | 34-1 | 29-5 | 28-6 | 35-2 | 32-4 | 32-3 | 32-3 |
| Points | 69.4 | 78.4 | 68.2 | 69.8 | 84.4 | 67.4 | 80.8 | 83.9 |
| Points allowed | 51.3 | 55.3 | 57.4 | 56.7 | 52.8 | 53.6 | 64.5 | 65.0 |
| Rebounds | 37.1 | 41.7 | 38.5 | 39.0 | 41.0 | 34.6 | 41.1 | 35.6 |
| Assists | 16.3 | 17.8 | 11.4 | 13.8 | 19.1 | 13.4 | 16.5 | 17.5 |
The DII women's Elite Eight, a breakdown
Bentley. Bentley turned on its intense press and used a 20-9 third quarter to come from behind and win the East Region. It is the 15th trip to the DII Women's Elite Eight for the Falcons, but first since 2016. Bentley has a national championship to boast, winning it all in 2014 when it became just the second program to run the table in an undefeated season. The Falcons are balanced and there is no one scorer a defense can home in on to slow down. Kylie DuCharme is second on the team in scoring with 12.0 points per game and leads the squad with 8.3 rebounds per game. She played a key role in the NE10's top-scoring defense 鈥 which was also top 5 in DII this year.
Cal State Dominguez Hills. Fun fact: The Toros men's and women's basketball teams won the CCAA regular-season title, tournament title and West Region title. They are back in the DII Women's Elite Eight for the second time since 2023. Nala Williams is the one to watch here. She already has earned the CCAA Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and the West Region Player of the Year honors. She leads the team with 17.1 points per game and is one of five Toros to rip down at least 5.2 rebounds per game.
Coker. Fueled by a 21-14 fourth quarter, the Cobras came back on No. 6 overall and No. 1 seeded North Georgia to win the Southeast Region for the first time in program history. This has been an impressive run, considering the Cobras are at 29 wins... and had 28 over the past two years combined. This is uncharted territory for Coker, but the team is playing like experienced postseason veterans. Shawnteanna Tillman, the SAC player of the year, is just one of several players to watch on this historic run to Pittsburgh.
Gannon. The Golden Knights are back in the DII Women's Elite Eight and are looking to pick up a win this time around. Last year, Gannon entered the Elite Eight as the No. 1 seed and was stunned by eighth-seeded Cal State San Marcos. The Golden Knights have been on a mission since the championship started, winning 10 points, 10 points, and 13 points in each of their three DII postseason wins. Bri Claxon and Kate Ratliff lead the scoring attack, but this is a well-rounded attack.
Grand Valley State. On paper, this is the team to beat. The Lakers score the most points per game of the eight teams remaining and have the second-best defense in the Elite Eight. They also are right there in rebounds per game and have the most assists per game in the field. The Lakers utterly dominated their way to the Midwest Region title 鈥 their third ever and second since 2022. And to beat Ashland by 12 points in such a pivotal matchup? Yes indeed, the Lakers are in elite form right now.
Lubbock Christian. While the Lakers are the team to beat on paper, the Chapparals are always the team to beat if they make it this far. Lubbock Christian has been an eligible DII women's basketball program since 2016 and already has three national championships 鈥 two of which were undefeated seasons. Head coach Steve Gomez is one of the best in the game, and Grace Foster is one of the best in DII, averaging 20.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Oh, the Chaps also just took down the No. 1 team in DII to win the South Central, coming back from 11 down in the second half and running away with it behind a 26-16 fourth quarter.
Pittsburg State. Like many of the teams here, the Gorillas trailed in the second half of their regional championship and came storming back to advance to the DII Women's Elite Eight. It is the third time Pittsburg State has made it this far in program history, but the Gorillas are still searching for that first natty. This team can flat-out score, led by Karenna Gerber who was a steady presence on the DII women's basketball all-stats team all season long. Grace Pyle can also score, chipping in 16.1 points per game and is one of two Gorillas with more than 100 assists on the season. Facing off against one of the winningest programs in the history of the sport is never a favorable matchup, but this team will be tough to slow down: They've scored at least 85 points in all three tournament games thus far in 2025.
Union (TN). Union is one of the most consistent teams in DII women's basketball. The Bulldogs have made the tournament eight seasons in a row and have won at least 27 games in each of those seasons, minus the shortened, 25-game 2021 season. Yet, this is only their second trip to the DII Women's Elite Eight and first since 2018 when they reached the national semifinals. This is a team that comes at you from all angles with a deep bench and has a very interesting first-round matchup to test that. Union is the second-highest scoring team in the field, and it faces Bentley 鈥 the team with the best defense remaining 鈥 in the opening matchup in Pittsburgh.
