The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) was founded in 1915 but didn’t begin sponsoring women’s athletics until the 1976-77 athletic year, when just seven members competed for the SCIAC title. In the 50 years since then, the conference has expanded to 10 teams competing in women’s basketball.
- Subscribe To FloCollege To Watch College Sports Live And On-Demand
- When Is The 2027 NCAA Division III Basketball Tournament?
- 5 Things To Know About SCIAC Men's Basketball Ahead Of The 2026-27 Season
All 10 institutions sponsor men’s and women’s basketball programs. Each team competes in 16 conference games: eight at home and eight on the road. Teams also will face Azusa Pacific in non-conference action, as the Cougars gained SCIAC membership in 2026 and are ineligible for SCIAC titles during their first year of NCAA reclassification.
However, you can still watch the newest member face its future conference opponents live on FloCollege. The Cougars won’t technically be competing in SCIAC play, but they will share the court with their future conference foes throughout the season. Here are the basics of SCIAC women's hoops:
What Teams Play Women’s Basketball In The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference?
- Azusa Pacific (First Year Of NCAA Reclassification)
- California Lutheran
- Caltech
- Chapman
- Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
- La Verne
- Occidental
- Pomona-Pitzer
- Redlands
- Whittier
What Happened In The SCIAC During The 2025-26 Women’s Basketball Season?
Last season, second-seeded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Women's Basketball defeated top-seeded California Lutheran 69-58 to win the SCIAC Women’s Basketball Tournament title for the first time since 2017. CMS advanced to the final with a 59-54 comeback win over third-seeded Pomona-Pitzer in the semifinal.
In conference play, Redlands led the SCIAC in scoring at 74.5 points per game. Cal Lutheran led on the defensive end, limiting opponents to 57.1 points per game.
La Verne’s Alyssa Smith led the conference in scoring with 278 points and 18.5 points per game. Cal Lutheran’s Alline Ballard led in rebounds per game at 12.1, while Smith led in total rebounds with 168 during conference play. Caleigh Edwards of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps averaged a conference-high 2.9 steals per game (47 total), and Caltech’s Louise Scriven led in blocked shots at 1.9 per game.
2025-26 SCIAC Women’s Basketball Standings
Team Standings (SCIAC, Overall)
- California Lutheran (13-3, 22-5)
- Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (12-4, 20-8)
- Pomona-Pitzer (11-5, 16-10)
- Redlands (11-5, 19-7)
- Chapman (9-7, 15-10)
- Occidental (7-9, 12-13)
- Whittier (6-10, 11-13)
- La Verne (2-14, 6-19)
- Caltech (1-15, 3-19)
2025-26 SCIAC Women’s Basketball Award Winners
California Lutheran led the 2025-26 SCIAC women’s basketball honorees, as Alline Ballard and Jana Holley earned Offensive and Defensive Athlete of the Year honors, respectively. The Ed Baldwin Award was presented to Occidental’s Ainsley Shelsta, recognizing the senior who exhibited the best sportsmanship throughout the conference season.
- Offensive Athlete of the Year: Alline Ballard, Cal Lutheran
- Defensive Athlete of the Year: Jana Holley, Cal Lutheran
- Newcomer of the Year: Teagan McIlroy, Redlands
- Ed Baldwin Award: Ainsley Shelsta, Occidental
- Coaching Staff of the Year: Alaina Woo & Staff, Pomona-Pitzer
When Is The 2027 SCIAC Women’s Basketball Tournament?
The 2027 SCIAC Women's Basketball Tournament will begin with the No. 5 seed visiting the No. 4 seed on Tuesday, Feb. 23. The semifinals will follow Thursday, Feb. 25, with the championship game set for Saturday, Feb. 27.
The tournament will be hosted by the higher seeds, with the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds serving as campus hosts. The winner of the No. 4 vs. No. 5 game will advance to face the No. 1 seed, while the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds will meet in the other semifinal.
The semifinal winners will battle for the championship and the SCIAC’s automatic bid to the 2027 Division III Women’s Basketball Championship.
Selections and seeding for the national tournament will be announced March 1, and games will begin March 5.
How Many Teams Participate In The Division III Basketball Championship?
The size of the NCAA Division III basketball championship fields has changed many times over the years.
The men’s tournament expanded to 32 teams in 1980 and 40 in 1989. In 1995, the field ballooned to 64 teams split into four sectionals, but the change lasted only three years before the field was reduced to 48.
The number slowly increased again until the full 64-team bracket returned in 2017.
The NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship needed just one year to double in size, growing from 16 teams in 1982 to 32 in 1983. That number remained steady until the field expanded to 40 teams in 1994 and then 64 in 1995.
Denison & Mary Washington Are The Reigning Division III National Champions
The last four teams standing in the 2026 NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship were Denison, NYU, Scranton and Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Denison went on to claim its first national title with a 55-41 victory over Scranton at the Cregger Center in Salem, Virginia.
On the men’s side, Christopher Newport, Emory, Mary Washington and Trinity College (CT) reached the national semifinals in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with Mary Washington topping Emory 75-73 for the trophy in Indianapolis.
2026 Division III Basketball Championship Brackets
Here’s a look at how things unfolded in 2026:
Archived Footage On FloCollege
Video footage from all games will be archived and stored in a video library for FloCollege subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.
How To Watch College Basketball
Stream college basketball games on FloHoops and the FloSports app.
Don’t miss the latest college basketball action by bookmarking the FloCollege schedule page for the latest games.
Join The College Basketball Conversation
- Follow us on Twitter @FloCollegeHoops
- Follow us on Instagram @FloCollegeBasketball
- Follow us on TikTok @FloHoopsTV
- Watch us on YouTube
- Like us on Facebook