NEWBERG, Ore. — It has been a journey of new experiences for the Louisiana College women's basketball team.

The Lady Wildcats (24-2) will make their first appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament today when they play defending national champion George Fox (25-2) at 9 p.m. Central time.

Louisiana College found out on their trip that it has moved up a spot in the national rankings. The Lady Cats now sit at 14th in the nation, their highest ranking since their move from the NAIA to the NCAA eleven years ago.

Wednesday, the team bussed to New Orleans and then flew to Portland. The trip was the first time that more than half of the young women on the team had boarded an airplane.

Now, despite having to deal with the stress of this new experience and the long day of travel, the team is in Oregon in high spirits and with even higher confidence, as are a few fans who made the nearly 2,500-mile trip.

With the travel logistics out of the way, the Lady Wildcats are turning their attention to a contest that could be one of the best of all 32 first-round games that will be played Friday evening.

“It's going to be two teams that have a long winning streak, won their conference, and are ranked very high in their region,” said Bruins coach Scott Rueck.

Although the experience from last year's tournament is invaluable for coaches and players, Rueck asserts that his team is not focused on the past, or on getting back to the finals immediately.

“The strength of this team is the ability to do things that matter in the moment, and not look ahead,” he said.

LC did not have much time to find out about its opponent, and have only had one practice since winning the American Southwest Conference Championship over the weekend.

From the game film the team watched, sophomore guard Roslyn Wilmer compared George Fox to Howard Payne University, whom the Lady Cats defeated 68-55 in the semifinals of the ASC tournament.

The Bruins play lots of zone defense, and like Howard Payne did with Hope Hohertz, run a lot of offense through their 6-foot-5 center Hannah Munger.

“She does what a 6-foot-5 player is supposed to do,” Wilmer said of Munger, who is averaging 12 points and more than 7 rebounds a game.

The Wildcats will use their own freshman center, 6-1 Voneshia Williams, to match-up against Munger.

Although the fifth-ranked Bruins are playing on their home court, neither team relishes playing a ranked opponent in the opening round.

“I don't really understand how that happened,” LC coach Janice Joseph-Richard said when the pairings were announced.

Rueck echoed the sentiment.

“I don't think (the selection process) makes sense to anybody, but it does to the committee,” Rueck said. “I trust that they have a good reason, but I just don't know what it is.”

In tonight's other first-round matchup at George Fox, 15h-ranked Puget Sound will meet Redlands. Friday's winners will play at 9 p.m. Central time Saturday for the right to advance to the sectional round.