NAMPA, Idaho — Let March Madness begin, the Crusaders are set to make their run in the playoffs!

The sixth-seeded Northwest Nazarene women's basketball team will tip-off the postseason on Thursday night, March 3, at the Marcus Pavilion on the campus of St. Martin's University, taking on third-seeded Montana State Billings in the quarterfinals of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament.

Tickets are available online at gnacsports.com.

Game time for the Crusaders quarterfinal contest is set for 6:15 p.m. (mountain time), and the game will be broadcast live online at nnusports.com/livestats

The contest is the third meeting this season between the teams, and the second in a week as NNU (12-14 overall, 10-10 GNAC) played its regular-season finale against the Yellowjackets on Thursday at the Johnson Sports Center.

MSU Billings (19-9, 15-5) holds the season-series edge, having won both meetings. The 'Jackets beat the Crusaders, 78-68, in Montana in December, and 74-55 last week in Nampa.

Alisa Breen led the way for MSU Billings in both games, scoring 25 points and grabbing six rebounds in Montana, then scoring 23 points and adding five rebounds in last week's meeting.

Taylor Simmons had 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Crusaders in these teams' first meeting, and led the way on Thursday with 12 points, five rebounds, two assists and eight steals. The eight steals for Simmons gave her 329 for her career, making her the all-time steals leader in NNU women's basketball history.

The winner of Thursday's quarterfinal game advances to play second-seeded Western Washington in the semifinals on Friday at 6:15 p.m. (MT). The GNAC Championship Game is schedule for Saturday at 8:30 p.m. (MT), with the winner earning an automatic berth to the NCAA National Tournament.