For the third consecutive season, the Smith College women’s basketball team is headed to the NCAA Division III Final Four. The Pioneers held their send off outside of Ainsworth Gymnasium on Tuesday afternoon, as they walked through a crowd of supporters and onto their team bus, which headed to the airport where they took off for Virginia.

Last weekend, the Pioneers (30-2) traveled to Brunswick, Maine and defeated host Bowdoin in the Sweet Sixteen on Friday before knocking down Gustavus Adolphus in the Elite Eight on Saturday — setting up a rematch of the 2024 Sweet Sixteen with Wisconsin-Oshkosh (27-4) in the national semifinals at the Cregger Center in Salem, Virginia. Tip off is slated for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.

In those two games in Maine, Smith clawed its way ahead in the fourth quarter. Both contests were extremely competitive, defensive battles that were back-and-forth the entire way. But once the Pioneers jumped ahead by five points in the final frame, neither Bowdoin or Gustavus Adolphus got any closer the rest of the way.

Smith always seems to find a way to close out the big games in crunch time, even when they are playing away from home. Given how much head coach Lynn Hersey and the Pioneers practice late-game scenarios, it’s not a coincidence Smith executes in those moments.

“The experience and the seasoned players we have is a huge help, and we also practice situational basketball quite a bit,” Hersey said. “A combination of those two things drive the confidence in those moments. The composure, the ability to execute at a high level, it’s definitely helped us win games, so we’re going to continue to focus on those pieces of the game as well.”

The Pioneers have accomplished a ton under Hersey (18 seasons). The level of consistency is remarkable. Since 2020 alone, Smith has won every NEWMAC tournament title, it’s been to four straight Sweet Sixteens, three straight Final Fours and a national championship game (last season).

Heading North to take on the undefeated Polar Bears, the top overall seed in the D3 field, it was clear the odds were stacked against Smith this postseason. But the Pioneers pulled it off, defeating No. 1 Bowdoin and the fifth-ranked team in the country, Gustavus Adolphus, in a 24-hour span. As soon as the final horn sounded, sending Smith to the Final Four, staffers working at Bowdoin immediately began setting a ladder up underneath one of the baskets.

Cutting down the nets has become a tradition for Smith, and it never gets old. Hersey is hoping the Pioneers still have one more net to snip when it’s all said and done.

“It’s been a combination of a bunch of different coaches’ and players’ hard work and belief,” Hersey said. “We’ve had that sort of refuse-to-lose attitude that’s brought us to this awesome moment where we get to reflect on our third straight Final Four. Not many teams can ever claim to have done that, and that feels really good. We’re still really focused on trying to win the whole thing. Really, that’s the measurement of success we want to go up against.”

Wisconsin-Oshkosh stands in the way of Smith’s second consecutive trip to the national title game. Last year, the Pioneers beat Oshkosh 61-59 in a Round of 16 thriller. Playing powerhouse programs multiple times in March has created some rivalries for Smith over the last few seasons, Oshkosh being one of them.

If Smith does win, which Hersey acknowledges is going to take 40 (or more) minutes of relentless energy and focus, the Pioneers could potentially see another rematch. On the other side of the bracket, NYU is back in the Final Four. The Bobcats defeated Smith 51-41 in the title game last season.

“It’s interesting, being able to play a team two NCAA tournaments in a row,” Hersey said. “You’re a little more familiar with them, it starts to become a little bit more of a rivalry because these games mean a lot to both programs.”

But nobody on Smith’s roster or coaching staff is concerned about the championship game, because they have a juggernaut of an opponent ahead of them on Thursday. The Titans have a talented starting five headlined by Sammi Beyer, a Division 1 transfer who played at St. Thomas (Minnesota). Oshkosh can play inside-out, rely on its guards, play isolation basketball or run several set plays to get open looks.

The Titans have a plethora of options at their disposal. Hersey expects it to be the toughest game Smith has had all season, and says her defense has to be locked in for four quarters if the Pioneers are to move on to Saturday’s title game.

“They’re well-coached,” Hersey said. “They have a lot of versatility in their starting five, good guard play, good post play. It’s going to be an absolute battle, but that’s what a Final Four should be. The games should really make you rise your game up, and hopefully we do that for them. Because we know they’re going to do that for us.”