GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The #5 University of Providence women's basketball team will kick off the 2022 NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship Opening Round presented by Ballogy on Friday with a game against #12 Talladega. The game will tip off at 12:00 p.m. MTN on Friday, March 12 in Alexandria, La.

The seniors on the experienced Argos team have now qualified for five straight NAIA National Tournament appearances and are hoping that postseason experience  they've acquired in that time will pay off as the team prepares for a deep run. 

"This group has been through this a bunch of times," head coach Bill Himmelberg said. "They're prepared, they're ready to go. They know what this is all about and they know they have to bring their best. We feel confident with the group that we have, we just have to take care of ourselves. It's about us. It's not as much about Talladega or whoever else we play, it's about what we do and how we do it."

The Argos (25-6, 12-3) have been off since Feb. 26 when they fell to Carroll College in a semifinal game of the Frontier Conference women's basketball postseason tournament. They've been in the practice gym since, focusing on finetuning their execution before sprinkling in a scouting report on Talladega since they've learned about the matchup. 

"Rebounding has been a big key for us these last two weeks," head coach Bill Himmelberg said.  We've also been focused on executing on the offensive end. We're been working on creating a defensive game plan that we're going to be able to execute against these guys."

The Tornadoes (20-11, 10-7) have a deep team, led by Sydni Tears who averages 15.3 points and 7.3 boards a game. Kameron Shelley adds nearly 12 points a game for the squad, followed by four players who average just under 10 points per contest. They're also aggressive defensively and the Argos have been preparing for their tenacity on that side of the floor.

"We expect them to bring high pressure," Himmelberg said. "They're going to get up and really defend. They're probably going to deny our guards a little bit and they're going to crash the boards hard. We're going to have to make sure that we rebound and take care of the basketball."

The Argos have quite a few weapons themselves, with four players averaging in double-figures for the squad. Returning All-Americans Emilee Maldonado and Parker Esary lead the way, with Maldonado averaging 17.5 points, 4.8 boards and 4.6 assists per game while Esary averages 15.6 points and 7.9 rebounds a game. Sharpshooter Brooklyn Harn adds 11.2 points off the bench while Reed Hazard adds 10.7 points per game.

"We couldn't be more excited to get going with this group that we have," head coach Bill Himmelberg said. "I wouldn't want to go to battle with anybody but these guys."