D3 March Madness ends, but Millsaps leaves its mark

Unless you win it all, every team playing in March will lose its last game. It doesn’t really matter what level or division.

Millsaps’ March run ends at Bethel

Millsaps (Miss.) College is an NCAA Division III school. Its women’s basketball team won the 2026 Southern Athletic Association Women’s Basketball Championship and secured an automatic NCAA bid. Last Friday, the Majors lost to host Bethel in the opening round, 81-73.

Although we are a longtime MIAC reporter, No. 1 Bethel from Arden Hills was one of four conference teams in this year’s NCAA DIII tourney, the primary reason why MSR was there was that the No. 4 squad from Jackson, Miss. had the most Black players (11) among the four teams. Wisconsin-Platteville and Coe College had none, and Bethel had only one.

“We were a few plays away,” Millsaps Coach Jeff Wilber said afterwards in his post-game comments.

It was a closely contested game that was even until the decisive fourth quarter when Bethel finally took control and outscored Millsaps 22-15. The Majors (21-8) outrebounded the victors 44-41, had two more fast break points (9-7), and were even in paint points (42-42).

“We were right there,” reiterated Wilber on Millsaps, whose 2025-26 season finished at 21-8, 9-5 in conference. They won their second Southern Athletic Association Tournament title in three seasons and made their second NCAA Division III appearance in program history.

A historic campus and resilient team

The small private liberal arts college was founded in 1890 and was the first in Mississippi to voluntarily desegregate in 1965. Johnny Carson once attended naval officer training there in 1943, where the famed comedian and late night host entertained his classmates with a magic and humor act. The 100-acre campus has approximately 600 students and is 27% Black.

Elyse Warren put up a double-double against Bethel, 13 points and 13 rebounds. The 5-9 senior center from Memphis, Tenn. said afterwards that the hostile Bethel crowd didn’t bother her or her teammates.

“It’s tough to go out there and hear those things, but it also takes a lot to not hear it and just play,” she stressed.

Warren, Garin Freeman, a 5-6 junior guard from Little Rock, Ark., and 5-9 junior forward Tia Anderson of Brusly, La., were the only Black starters on both squads that night. Anderson led Millsaps with 24 points and tied with Warren for a team-high 13 boards.

“There was a lot of adversity, whether losing one of our top guards in the middle of the season or losing all of our starters from last year and having to completely rebuild, with everyone learning new roles,” said Anderson, who also is Millsaps student body president. “I am just proud of what we did and building a foundation to go into next year and go further.”

Players stepping into new roles

“I stepped into being the main ballhandler” after the team’s regular point guard went down with an injury, added Freeman, who had a game-high 12 assists along with 14 points against Bethel. According to the Royals coach, Bethel used a 1-2-2 trap to keep the ball out of Freeman’s hands, especially in the fourth quarter. “It changed my role even more.”

Ciara Jackson of Shannon, Miss., was the only Black coach among the four-team field at Bethel last week. She was hired as a Millsaps assistant coach in July 2025 after a one-season stint in a similar position at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls, Iowa. Both she and Wilber, who was hired last April, completed their first season coaching the Majors.

“I used to be a player, so I know what the dedication and the work it takes,” said Jackson, who also pointed out that Millsaps left a lasting impression on the home crowd (reported attendance: 418).

“Regardless of winning or losing, they have to respect what we can do. Everybody in the gym probably now has respect for Millsaps,” she said.

Coaching changes close to home

Last week the MIAC lost two Black head coaches. Alicia Wood stepped down after two seasons as St. Olaf women’s volleyball coach to pursue other opportunities, the school announced. Jared Drake left St. Scholastica after one season as men’s basketball coach, but no official announcement of his departure from the school has yet been released.

Both coaches were featured in MSR’s “Coaching While Black” series.

Coquese Washington also was fired last week at Rutgers after four seasons, unless things change, the Big Ten has ZERO Black head coaches in men’s and women’s basketball.

Charles Hallman welcomes reader comments to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.