The No. 3 St. Thomas women’s basketball team will take on Ripon College in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament Friday night at Schoenecker Arena.

The Tommies (26-1, 18-0 MIAC) and the Red Hawks (19-8, 16-2 Midwest Conference) were the regular season and tournament champions for their respective conferences.

This is the 26th NCAA tournament appearance for the Tommies and their eighth in a row, giving St. Thomas a lot of playoff experience.

“Being a returning team in the playoffs is undeniably a big advantage,” said senior guard Kaylie Brazil in an email. “During the week, our team is busy preparing for all the teams in our bracket, something we’ve mastered throughout the years. It allows us to get a better understanding of every team so we are ready to face anyone when the time comes.”

The Tommies have won the past 16 games in a row, defeating opponents by an average of 28.1 points during that span.

The Tommies are led by senior center Hannah Spaulding, who is the back-to-back MIAC Player of the Year. As the team’s leading scorer, she is at 17.1 points-per-game and grabs 9.6 rebounds-per-game.

St. Thomas ranks 23rd offensively in the country with 75.3 points-per-game and 10th nationally on defense, allowing just 49.1 points-per-game.

This is the Ripon Redhawks’ fifth appearance, and their first time with sixth-year head coach Lauren Busalacchi.

Ripon offers an elite defense, sitting 31st nationally at 52.9 points-per-game given up to opponents and limiting them to an outstanding 33.6 field goal percentage and 23.5 percent from beyond the three point arc.

The Redhawks all-conference center Maggie Oimen is 6 feet 2 inches tall and has 14.5 points-per-game and 7.7 rebounds-per-game. The matchup between Spaulding and Oimen may be the most anticipated of the game.

The winner of this first round matchup will face the winner of No. 18 Illinois Wesleyan and Wisconsin Lutheran Saturday night at Schoenecker Arena.

Alex Panos can be reached at pana8391@stthomas.edu.