The St. Thomas women’s basketball team will play Loras College (Iowa) in the first round of the NCAA Division III championship tournament Friday on the road at Wisconsin-River Falls.

If the Tommie women (24-3 overall, 16-2 MIAC) defeat Loras (19-8 overall, 10-4 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference), they will play the winner of the Wisconsin-River Falls – Wheaton (Illinois) game on Saturday.

The Tommies won their fifth-straight MIAC title Saturday, defeating St. Mary’s 77-65.

Coach Ruth Sinn said her team is charged after their last victory and welcomes the chance to head in the tournament.

“We are excited about the opportunity to compete in the NCAA tournament,” she said. “At this point it’s about the teams that can play the best basketball.”

Sinn said the team is a little anxious about being on the road for the first game but expects that won’t impact their playing ability.

“We’re going to take it one game at a time so that our team can be best prepared to control the game,” she said. “The team is really excited.”