This marks first time both teams qualified for the NAIA National Tournament in same season
For the first time in Indiana University Northwest history, both the men’s and women’s basketball teams qualified in their respective National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Basketball National Championship Tournament in the same season.
As the co-regular season Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference champions, the men’s team earned an automatic qualification for the National Tournament as a 12-seed. The men’s team will play No. 6 Mobile (Alabama) in the first round on March 14 in Williamsburg, Kentucky.
See all the NAIA National Tournament men's qualifiers and streaming information
The women’s team had a different path in a highly competitive CCAC. After finishing fourth in the conference, the RedHawks earned an at-large bid into the National Tournament as a 10-seed. The women’s team will play No. 7 Florida Memorial at 7 p.m. on March 14 in Henderson, Tennessee.
See all the NAIA National Tournament women's qualifiers and streaming information
Jessica Carrothers, Trace Williams sweep CCAC Player of the Year honors
It’s not uncommon for two of the conference’s best players to be on two of the league’s best teams. It’s less commonplace for both the men’s and women’s CCAC Player of the Year to come from the same university.
Junior guard Jessica Carrothers and senior guard Trace Williams brought home their respective conference Player of the Year and CCAC First Team honors after a pair of outstanding seasons.
Carrothers picked up where she left off last season lighting up the scoreboard, leading the country with 31.1 points per game while adding 3.6 steals per game. She put up 40 or more points on five different occasions and scored 30-plus in 17 of the 27 games she played.
Williams capped his First Team All-CCAC performance last season by winning the CCAC Men’s Player of the Year this year. In conference play, Williams averaged 20.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists while shooting 59.4% from the field.
Additionally, seniors Danny Smith and Anthony Taylor earned First Team and Second Team All-CCAC recognition on the men’s side while senior forward Tiara Jackson was named an All-CCAC Second Team selection on the women’s side.
Smith and Taylor found themselves on the All-CCAC men’s team for the second straight season, too. In conference play, Smith averaged 17.7 points and 8.7 rebounds while Taylor averaged 13.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists.
Jackson was arguably the conference’s player in the post all season with a CCAC-best 12.5 rebounds per game while averaging 17 points and 1.5 blocks per game.
Men’s team continues success under Javier Heridia
IU Northwest head men’s basketball coach Javier Heridia has taken the RedHawks to new heights during his tenure.
This season marks the third time in four years the men’s team qualified for the NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship Tournament. Heridia, who’s in his ninth season at IU Northwest, led the RedHawks to their first ever National Tournament appearance in 2022 and has won 21 or more games in five different seasons.
The RedHawks enter postseason play with a 22-7 (16-4 CCAC) record, which included a six-game winning streak to end the regular season.
Last season, the RedHawks nearly cut an 18-point deficit against No. 4-seed Concordia (Neb.) in the tournament’s first round but lost 83-81.
IU Northwest is seeking its first NAIA National Tournament win in school history.
Women’s team shines under first-year head coach Nicki Monahan-Keith
IU Northwest women’s basketball didn’t miss a beat under first-year head coach Nicki Monahan-Keith.
Monahan-Keith, a former All-American player for the RedHawks, took over the program after serving as an assistant coach for two seasons. Under her direction, the RedHawks finished with an impressive 23-7 record and 15-5 mark in CCAC play.
After losing in the conference tournament semifinals, IU Northwest secured a spot in the National Tournament thanks to their competitiveness in a CCAC Conference that saw eight teams finish with winning records and four secure 20-plus win seasons.
This marks the fifth time in program history that the women’s basketball team will play in the National Tournament. The RedHawks last made the tournament in 2023 and last won a National Tournament game in 2019 when they advanced to the Sweet 16.
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