KINGS POINT, N.Y. (March 5, 2026) – The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy women's basketball team travels to Lewiston, Maine, this weekend to take part in the program's fifth appearance at the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament. The Mariners' first-round matchup is against the hosts and #9/12 nationally ranked team, the Bobcats of Bates College, tomorrow, Friday, March 6, beginning at 7:15 p.m. ET at Bates' Alumni Gymnasium.
 
Important Links

• Live Stats
• Live Video
• Complete Tournament Bracket: Interactive / PDF-Printable
• Buy Tickets (Friday)
• Buy Tickets (Saturday) 

Ticket Information
If you are planning to make the trip up to Maine to catch the Mariners in action live, tickets are available for both days. For Friday, one ticket is good for both the 4:45 p.m. Smith-Union game and the USMMA-Bates game that follows at 7:15 p.m. Doors open one hour before the first tip-off (3:45 p.m. ET). Tickets for Friday can be purchased at this link.
 
If the Mariners' advance to Saturday's second round game beginning at 7:15 p.m., tickets can be purchased for Saturday at this link.
 
Ticket prices are as follows:

• Adult General Admission (ages 18+) = $17.85 (incl. $2.85 Fee)
• Seniors/Youth/Students = $12.51 (incl. $2.51 Fee) 

How They Got Here
Merchant Marine is in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in program history (2019, 2020, 2022 & 2025) and for the second-straight season. The Mariners earned an automatic qualifying bid into the national tourney after winning the Skyline Conference Championship this past weekend. They sit at 23-4 overall on the season thus far and are riding a 12-game winning streak.
 
The Mariners were the #2 seed in the Skyline Tournament last week after compiling an 18-2 conference record throughout the regular season. They earned a bye through the first round and defeated #3-seed Mount St. Mary in the semifinals on Friday, 62-54, before beating top-seeded Manhattanville on the road in the championship game this past Sunday, 63-59.
 
The Mariners' first-round opponent Bates also earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after winning the NESCAC Tournament this past weekend. The Bobcats are ranked #9 in the latest WBCA Top 25 Poll, while also coming in at 12th in the nation in D3hoops.com's Top 25.
 
They sit at 24-3 on the season and were 8-2 in NESCAC action. Bates earned the #2 seed in the conference tournament and defeated #7-seed Hamilton in the quarterfinals, 67-64, in overtime and #3-seed Amherst in the semifinals this past Saturday, 80-68. In the championship game on Sunday at top-seed then-#6/8 Bowdoin, the Bobcats earned a 61-56 upset to claim the NESCAC title.
 
Two other conference champions reside on the other side of the Lewiston pod's bracket in Smith College and Union College (N.Y.). The #4/6 nationally-ranked Bears of Smith defeated Clark (Mass.) in the NEWMAC Conference championship game, 72-65, while the Garnet Chargers of Union punched their ticket into the field with an 11-point win over RIT in the Liberty League title game, 81-70, this past Sunday.
 
A Closer Look At The Mariners
The Mariners captured two major Skyline Conference postseason awards at the end of the regular season, as sophomore Carolae Barton (Waldorf, Md.) was named the Player of the Year and head coach Alexa Shields earned her second-straight Coach of the Year award. Three players were named to the All-Skyline Fist Team, Barton, junior Emily Grasseler (Millbrook, N.Y.) and senior Hannah Ramsden (Port Aransas, Texas).
 
As a team, the Mariners rank in the top-31 in the NCAA in 14 categories.

• First in rebound margin (+20.5)
• Third in scoring margin (+24)
• Fifth in rebounds per game (49.04)
• Seventh in assists per game (18.0) and scoring defense holding opponents to just 49.0 points per game
• 11th in field goal percentage defense holding opponents to just 32.4% shooting
• 12th in offensive rebounds per game (17.9)
• 16th in field goal percentage (43.4%) and defensive rebounds per game (31.1)
• 17th in fouls per game with just 12.5
• 19th in winning percentage (85.2)
• 21st in blocks per game (4.7)
• 29th with 1,970 total points
• and 31st in scoring offense (73.0 points per game) 

Individually, Barton, Grasseler and Ramsden are among the leaders in the NCAA in multiple categories.
 
Barton ranks second amongst all Division III players in field goal percentage (62.1%), fifth with 76 total blocks, sixth with 2.92 blocks per game, eighth with 200 total field goals, ninth with 19 double-doubles, 11th with 324 total rebounds, 13th with 12.5 rebounds per game, 16th with 8.3 defensive rebounds per game, 26th with 495 total points, 27th with 19.0 points per game and 35th with 4.2 offensive rebounds per game.
 
Grasseler ranks ninth in DII with 19 double-doubles, 16th with 192 total field goals made, 18th with 430 total field goal attempts, 30th with 278 total rebounds, 46th with 465 total points, and 50th with 10.3 rebounds per game.
 
Ramsden checks in at 48th in the nation in three-point shooting percentage (36.6%).
 
To view the Mariners' entire NCAA Statistical Rankings, click here.
 
Scouting The Other Teams In The Pod
Bates out of Lewiston, Maine, is led by 11th-year head coach Alison Montgomery. The Bobcats boasted the NESCAC Player and Defensive Player of the Year in senior Elsa Daulerio as well as the Coaching Staff of the Year in Montgomery and her three assistants.
 
Daulerio is a three-time All-NESCAC First Team selection throughout her career. She was joined on the First Team by her classmate Sarah Hughes.
 
As a team, Bates ranks in the top-44 among DIII programs in nine categories.

• 12th in winning percentage (88.9)
• 13th in turnovers per game with just 13.0
• 18th in blocks per game (4.8)
• 19th in assist/turnover ratio (+1.12)
• 24th in scoring defense holding opponents to just 51.7 points per game
• 28th in rebound margin (+8.9)
• 33rd in scoring margin (+16.1)
• 42nd in three-point field goal percentage defense holding opponents to just 24.9% shooting from beyond the arch
• and 44th in free-throw percentage (73.3%) 

Daulerio is the lone Bobcat to rank high in any statistics nationally, as she comes in at ninth in DIII with 73 total blocks and 10th with 2.7 blocks. To view the Bates' entire NCAA Statistical Rankings, click here.
 
Smith out of Northampton, Mass., is led by a three-time National Coach of the Year Lynn Hersey, who is in her 19th season. The Bears are on a 13-game win-streak and had two major NEWMAC postseason award winners in junior Hannah Martin, who was named the Defensive Player of the Year and the Co-Coaching staff of the year in Hersey and her three assistants. To view Smith's entire NCAA Statistical Rankings, click here.
 
Union out of Schenectady, N.Y., is led by fifth-year head coach Katie Marcella. The Garnet Chargers boasted three major postseason awards from the Liberty League, as senior Jelena Perovic was named the Player of the Year, sophomore Oliva Cunningham earned Defensive Player of the Year accolades and the coaching staff of Marcella and her four assistants took home Coaching Staff of the Year honors. To view Union's entire NCAA Statistical Rankings, click here.
 
Looking Ahead
The winner of the two games on Friday will play in the NCAA Second Round on Saturday, March 7. That game will begin at 7:15 p.m. at Bates' Alumni Gymnasium. The winner of Saturday's contest will reach the tournament's Sweet 16 the following weekend.
 
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