(LEBANON, Ill., March 16)--Three teams will represent the American Midwest Conference at the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship in Jackson, Tenn. The 32-team, single-elimination event tips off with first-round action on Wednesday and Thursday, March 17 and 18 at Oman Arena.

William Woods University, which earned the AMC's automatic berth to the NAIA Tournament by winning the league's post-season tournament, will be joined by at-large selections Columbia College and McKendree University in the field. The three schools now have a combined 19 appearances in NAIA Tournament play.

This will be Columbia's seven trip to Jackson, where the Cougars lead the trio with three tournament victories. Columbia will take on Bethel University (Tenn.) in a first-round game on Thursday at 12:30 p.m.

William Woods is appearing in the NAIA Tournament for the third time, and is still in search of its first-ever national tourney win. The Owls tip off the 2010 tournament by taking on Trevecca Nazarene University (Tenn.) in the opening game on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m.

The veteran of the three schools, McKendree, has earned a spot in the national tournament field for the ninth time. However, the Bearcats are winless in eight previous first-round games. McKendree will square off with Southern Polytechnic State University (Ga.) in a 4 p.m. contest on Wednesday.

Second-round play will take place on Friday, with the national quarterfinals set for Saturday. The NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship game will be held on Tuesday, March 23 at 7 p.m. CT.