INDIANAPOLIS - Coming off of the program's third NAIA National Championship, the Marian women's basketball team has finalized its schedule in its first title defense season since 2017. Entering her third year as head coach, Suntana Anderson has built a competitive slate for the Knights this upcoming season, filling a complete 28-game schedule for the 2026-27 season. 

Marian is coming off one of its best seasons in program history, as the Knights captured the Crossroads League regular season and tournament championships, while also winning the program's third NAIA National Championship. Marian finished the year 35-2, with the championship marking the first for the Knights in women's basketball since the NAIA merged divisions in 2020. 

Looking to build a competitive schedule coming off the team's championship, Coach Anderson has filled the team's non-conference slate with nine NAIA opponents and one NCAA DIII foe. Marian will play five teams in its non-conference schedule that qualified for the 2026 NAIA National Tournament, adding to their already daunting Crossroads League schedule that features six teams that were among the final 64 NAIA teams one season ago. 

In total, Marian's schedule will feature 17 games against 2026 NAIA qualifying teams, playing six of those 17 games in its first four weeks of the season. 

Marian's season opens on October 30 and 31, traveling south to Alabama to play in the Jimmy Faulkner Classic, hosted in Montgomery, Alabama, at Faulkner University. Marian will play both Faulkner and William Carey in its first two games of the year, and then will return to the Midwest to open the month of November with a traditional road game on November 3 at Rochester Christian. 

The first home game of the season will be played on Saturday, November 3, when Marian welcomes in Culver-Stockton College for its home opener. Marian will then play NCAA DIII Anderson on November 10, and will travel to the University of the Cumberlands the ensuing Saturday to cap an early six-game grind. 

Crossroads League play opens for Marian on November 18 and 21, first hosting Bethel and then traveling to Spring Arbor. The two games against 2026 qualifiers lead into Thanksgiving weekend, when the Knights travel to Midway, Kentucky, to take on both Midway and IU-East. 

A light slate is set for the Knights in December, when the team will play two Crossroads League games and two non-conference games. The month opens with a road game at Goshen College, before hosting Mount Vernon Nazarene on Saturday, December 5. Marian will then travel to IU-Southeast on Tuesday, December 8, and will end the month of December with a home matchup against the University of Rio Grande. 

An eight-game month of January begins on the second day of the year 2027, with Marian resuming Crossroads League play at home against Taylor University. Of note in January, the Knights will travel to rival University of Saint Francis on January 9 in a rematch of last year's CL Tournament Championship. They will host Indiana Wesleyan, Huntington, Spring Arbor, and Goshen during the month. Marian plays six of the 17 games against 2026 NAIA qualifiers in January, including a string of five consecutive games from January 9 through 27. 

February opens at Mount Vernon Nazarene, with the team taking road games to Taylor, Indiana Wesleyan, and Huntington as well. Sandwiched in between the games at the Trojans and Wildcats are the final two home games of the season, when Marian hosts Grace and the University of Saint Francis on February 10 and 13. The road trip to take on the Foresters will be the final game of the regular season.

Crossroads League Tournament dates for the women in 2027 will be Wednesday, February 24, Saturday, February 27, and Tuesday, March 2. The NAIA First and Second Round dates are set for March 12 and 13, and the NAIA Tournament Final Site begins on Thursday, March 18, in Sioux City, Iowa, where the Knights hope to get back on the top step and complete their national championship defense.  

Marian's 2026 NAIA National Championship celebration and ring presentation are being planned and will be announced at a later date early this fall. 

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