COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (Interstat) — Two teams looking to salvage difficult seasons will meet with a championship berth on the line Monday when Mississippi Valley State faces Prairie View in the Southwestern Athletic Conference women’s basketball tournament.

The sixth-seeded Devilettes (7-22) and seventh-seeded Lady Panthers (2-27) will tip off at College Park’s Gateway Center Arena in a first-round matchup. The winner advances to face regular-season champion and top seed Jackson State.

Mississippi Valley State, which swept the regular-season series, enters with momentum from a 66-50 road win at Jackson State to close the season. Prairie View, meanwhile, is mired in a 13-game losing streak, most recently a 111-64 defeat at Texas Southern on March 5.

The Devilettes have dominated the recent head-to-head meetings, winning 67-45 at Prairie View on Feb. 19 and 80-73 on Jan. 10. In the most recent matchup, Mississippi Valley State’s defense held the Lady Panthers to 27.6% shooting from the field.

A key player for the Devilettes is guard Kylah McCullers, who is coming off a 19-point performance in the upset of Jackson State. In the Feb. 19 win over Prairie View, she contributed 9 points and 5 assists. Her playmaking will be central to Mississippi Valley State’s offensive flow.

Prairie View will look to sophomore guard Margan Allen to provide a scoring spark. Allen scored a team-high 17 points in the loss to Texas Southern and had 10 points in the previous meeting with the Devilettes. Support from Alana Shields and Crystal Schultz, who combined for 28 points in the season finale, will be crucial.

Both teams have struggled offensively this season, with Prairie View averaging just over 53 points per game and Mississippi Valley State averaging near 61. The Devilettes’ defensive pressure, which forced 22 Prairie View turnovers in the February contest, could be the decisive factor.

The game is scheduled for Monday, March 9, as part of the 2026 SWAC Women’s Basketball Championship. The tournament’s single-elimination format offers both teams a chance to reset after a long regular season.