That's what the Warriors learned when the NAIA Division I tournament bracket was announced Wednesday afternoon.

The LCSC men, seeded 17th, will take on 16th-seeded Trevecca Nazarene (Tenn.) this coming Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. PST at the Municipal Auditorium at Kansas City, Mo. Meanwhile, the Warrior women will battle Oklahoma City, ranked third in the final national poll, next Thursday at 8:45 a.m. PST at Oman Arena in Jackson, Tenn.

The L-C men are making their sixth trip to nationals, and their first back-to-back appearance. Trevecca Nazarene's previous tournaments came in 1987 and 2001. These programs have apparently never met.

The Warriors (25-8) and Trojans (24-7) seem to be evenly matched. But whichever club advances to the second round will probably face Mountain State (W. Va.) -- the top-ranked team in the country. The Cougars, who drew Columbia (Mo.) in the first round, have been to the last two national title games, and won it last season.

The L-C women's opponent, Oklahoma City, is the NAIA's most dominate program over the last decade. The Stars captured five consecutive national titles from 1998-2002, and have finished runner-up the last two seasons.

"I've always wanted to play them. I kind of though it would be in the championship game," Warriors coach Brian Orr said with a laugh, "but this is exciting."

The Stars (28-6) have frustrated opponents with a variety of trapping defenses. "They do a lot of stuff that takes you out of your normal routines," said Orr, whose team is 22-10. "It's one of those games you've got to go out and play basketball and make plays."

Oklahoma City and LCSC have become frequent combatants at national tournaments -- and not just in women's basketball. The schools' baseball teams met for the World Series title in '02 and '03, and the L-C men's basketball team lost to the Stars in last season's second round.

This will be the third meeting at the national tournament between the LCSC women and OCU. In 1999, the Stars beat the Warriors in the second round; in 2001, OCU eliminated L-C in the Final Four. That turned out to be Mike Divilbiss' final game as the Warriors' coach.

Like those clubs Divilbiss' teams faced, these Stars have an international flavor. Three players are from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and two hail from Mali, a country in northwest Africa.

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Baney may be contacted at mbaney@lmtribune.com