Nearly five months, thousands of games, and millions of miles of combined travel have all led to four quarters remaining in the NCAA Division II women’s basketball season.

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As the dust settled on Wednesday night’s semifinal rounds at the NCAA D-II Women’s Elite Eight at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh, just two teams are now left standing for the biggest prize in D-II hoops: Cal State Dominguez Hills and Grand Valley State.

The Toros have never been at this stage before, only recently exploding onto the national stage after making their first-ever Elite Eight appearance in 2023. Meanwhile, the Lakers are a household name in D-II in just about every sport, but despite a proud tradition of success on the hardwood, they just have one national title appearance (and win, for that matter) to their name.

Something’s got to give in the national championship game, scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. (ET) Friday — and only one powerhouse will get to leave The Steel City with the ultimate bragging rights.

Here’s a look ahead at the final matchup of the 2024-25 NCAA Division II women’s basketball season with detailed previews on what to expect from each of the finalists:

Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros Women's Basketball

• Conference: California Collegiate Athletic Association
• Record: 36-1
• Region: West

The lowdown: Even the best of teams are bound to have a scare every now and then. In Cal State Dominguez Hills’ case, however, little has shaken it all season — including all the way up to the leadup for Friday night’s national championship game. 

CSUDH, the only D-II squad with less than two losses, didn’t just win the CCAA regular-season and tournament titles along with the West Regional to make it to the Elite Eight for the second time in three years, but it largely dominated its opposition on their way to those accolades, with a four-point loss to Chico State in conference play in mid-February being the only blemish on its record. 

In CSUDH’s five NCAA Tournament games since it walloped Cal Poly Pomona by 23 points in the CCAA Championship title game, it has won all five by an average of 15.6 points, with the Toros getting past a pesky Alaska Anchorage by two points in the West Region semifinals on their way to making it to Pittsburgh. And since getting to the Steel City, the CSUDH machine (which forces 26.4 turnovers a game while averaging 17.8 assists per night) hasn’t had to sweat out a result on the biggest stage in D-II hoops, beating Coker by 16 in the quarterfinals before handling Union (Tennessee) by 18 in Wednesday’s first national semifinal game to play for its first-ever national championship later this week. 

Those are not bad numbers for a program that finished .500 (14-14 overall) a season ago and was picked to finish third in its league in the preseason.

Meet Dominguez Hill’s star forward, Asia Jordan 🏀👏

Asia has been a difference maker this season for the Toros, averaging nearly 13 PPG while being a strong playmaker. The Toros play in the final four TODAY at 5PM CT 🔥#CCAAHoops | @goccaa | @CSUDHwbb pic.twitter.com/y7slAHjbsq

— FloCollege | Basketball (@FloCollegeHoops) March 26, 2025

Key player: Nala Williams, G, Jr.

If your definition of what makes a national player of the year-caliber player revolves around playing just as good of defense to match your production on the offensive end, no one in D-II ball this year has been better than Williams. 

An ironwoman for the Toros who has started in all but one of her games played across her career, the junior has always been a two-way menace since she first broke onto the scene as the CCAA Freshman of the Year in 2022-23. Her leap this season as CSUDH’s undisputed leader, however, has been special to witness as the Toros have established a new program-record mark for wins. 

Averaging 17.3 points per outing entering the national championship game on career-best marks of 44.9% shooting from the field and 39.5% from 3-point range, those numbers alone, along with the Toros’ demolition of their league would’ve made Williams worthy of the CCAA Player of the Year award, which she won. But it’s her prowess on the defensive end this year at 4.1 steals per game entering Friday — second in all of D-II — that has turned her into arguably the finest all-around guard in the country, a claim that gained further legitimacy when the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association named her the D-II Player of the Year last week on top of also being the CCAA Defensive Player of the Year and the D2CCA West Region Player of the Year. 

A special player amid a special season, Williams can ascend from already-legendary to mythical status in Toros lore by pulling off one more incredible feat Friday — leading CSUDH to a national title.

Grand Valley State Lakers Women's Basketball

• Conference: Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
• Record: 37-2
• Region: Midwest

The lowdown: To play Ohio State — a team that won a D-I NCAA Tournament game as a No. 4 seed — in Columbus (on Dec. 17) and not be completely outclassed tells you pretty much all you need to know about how much of a buzzsaw Grand Valley State is this D-II hoops season. 

The Lakers being in the national title hunt is nothing new as coach Mike Williams’ program has hit the 30-wins mark for the fourth straight season, but the path of destruction that the Lakers have gone on over the past few months en route to the national final has showcased a new edge — and is downright scary. 

Before GLIAC play even started, GVSU had three nonconference wins over top-eight ranked teams, all by at least 17 points; since then, the Lakers have truly only had one off night, being stunned in a 79-77 loss by Parkside in mid-February for their only D-II defeat of the year. They’ve won 12 straight since that slipup, making it back to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2022 in the process as GVSU clobbered Gannon (60-32) in the quarters before fending off Pittsburg State (68-61) in the semis to clinch the program’s first title-game trip since 2006. 

That team, which was coached under now-Minnesota coach Dawn Plitzuweit, won the program’s only national championship to date, as well, and a lethal Lakers roster that ranks in the top seven nationally in both scoring offense (83.7 points per game) and scoring defense (52.3 points allowed per game) is ready to try and give the ‘06 title a friend in the school’s trophy case. 

ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɴᴇʀɢʏ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʜᴀʀɪꜱᴍᴀ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏᴍᴇɴᴛ ⚓︎

A story still being written ✍️#AnchorUp | #WEliteEight pic.twitter.com/nNqVdOSbWq

— GVSU Lakers (@gvsulakers) March 27, 2025

Key player: Rylie Bisballe, F, R-Sr.

The heartbeat of the Lakers, despite not having otherworldly stats, Bisballe has done a lot of winning as the on-the-floor leader of one of the finest programs in D-II basketball today, and it has no doubt come in handy as her team tries to make some history in Pittsburgh this week. 

Since Bisballe made it to Allendale in 2020-21, GVSU has won a mind-boggling total of 144 games since, with the 6-foot-2 weapon being involved in most of them, including by way of starting every game over each of the past two seasons. 

The GLIAC Player and Defensive Player of the Year, D2CCA Midwest Region Player of the Year and WBCA All-American — who only plays 22.5 minutes per outing as Williams subs frequently to keep his players fresh throughout games — has been remarkably efficient with her often-limited time on the floor this season, averaging 13.8 points and 5.8 rebounds on 51.6% shooting. It isn’t a coincidence that she’s having a career year next to freshman guard (and sister) MacKenzie Bisballe, either, as the siblings are playing together on a high-profile team for the first time and running the show at GVSU as its two leading scorers. 

The Lakers will need both of them and other tools in their arsenal Friday against a Cal State Dominguez Hills team that loves to disrupt strong offenses and play games its way, but you don’t win at least 31 games in four straight seasons by accident — and Rylie Bisballe knows how to get the job done, no matter the circumstances.

NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Rankings

Here are the WBCA rankings entering the tournament 

• No. 1 Texas Woman’s (31-1)
• No. 2 Grand Valley State (32-2)
• No. 3 Bentley (30-1)
• No. 4 Cal State Dominguez Hills (31-1)
• No. 5 Ashland (30-3)
• No. 6 North Georgia (29-2)
• No. 7 Pittsburg State (29-3)
• No. 8 Concordia-St. Paul (29-2)
• No. 9 Union, TN (29-3)
• No. 10 Texas-Tyler (25-4)
• No. 11T Fort Hays State (27-4)
• No. 11T Lubbock Christian (29-4)
• No. 13 Embry-Riddle (27-4)
• No. 14 Cal Poly Pomona (25-5)
• No. 15 Fairmont State (27-4)
• No. 16 Alaska Anchorage (27-4)
• No. 17 Lewis (26-3)
• No. 18 Southwest Minnesota State (26-4)
• No. 19 Gannon (25-6)
• No. 20 Tampa (26-6)
• No. 21 Coker (26-5)
• No. 22 Colorado Mesa (25-5)
• No. 23 Point Loma Nazarene (25-5)
• No. 24 Nova Southeastern (25-6)
• No. 25 Azusa Pacific (22-6)

Dropped out: No. 23 Seton Hill (23-6); No. 25 Montana State Billings (25-7).

Others receiving votes: Seton Hill (23-6) 37; Harding (25-6) 22; Minnesota State Mankato (24-7) 19; Montana State Billings (25-7) 19; Belmont Abbey (25-5) 15; Daemen (21-7) 15; Southern Nazarene (23-7) 14; Edinboro (24-6) 12; Holy Family (24-6) 12; Fayetteville State (21-7 10; Quincy (25-7) 5.

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