18 Mar 2026 NPC Women’s Basketball punches ticket to national tournament

Posted at 5:32 PMh in Sports by

HOT SPRINGS — The National Park College (NPC) Nighthawk women’s basketball team (21-10) earned an automatic bid into the National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA) Division 2 Women’s Basketball National Tournament, held March 16-21 at the Tarlton Complex in Hickory, North Carolina.

The tournament will feature a 20-team field, including 16 automatic district qualifiers and four at-large invitations. 

“I’m extremely proud of this group and its resiliency to overcome adversity,” NPC women’s basketball head coach Eddie Broughton, Sr. said. “It has shaped us and built us into something that can be pretty scary going into the National Tournament. We have worked hard to achieve this moment. We’re looking forward to it, we’re excited and we’re ready to go.”

A historic season continues for NPC, which advances to its first National Tournament in program history following Saturday’s 73-60 Central Plains District Championship win over Jefferson College in The Kettle. The victory marks the first District title in Nighthawk history and follows the team’s second-consecutive NJCAA Region 2 Championship.

The 2026 NJCAA Division 2 National Tournament will be streamed live by the NJCAA Network.

For more information on schedules, rosters and more, visit np.edu/athletics. Fans can also follow the Nighthawks all season on social media.