GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) - The University of North Dakota has earned a No. 14 seed for the NCAA women’s basketball tournament and will open against No. 3-seed Texas A&M on Sunday in College Station, Texas.
North Dakota (22-9), which is in its second season in the Big Sky Conference, will be making its first appearance in the NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament. The 64-team tournament field was unveiled Monday night.
“Texas A&M. Giant,” said North Dakota’s head coach Travis Brewster. “Coach (Gary) Blair is a heck of coach. It’s a very dynamic team; they’re one of the most dangerous teams in the tournament. (We’re) excited for the opportunity there, but we’re not going to go down there with the thought process of ’Oh, we just happen to be there.’… It’s a chance to make history.”
North Dakota earned its automatic bid on Saturday by beating Montana 72-55 in the Big Sky championship game. Conference player of the year Madi Buck led North Dakota with 14 points in front of more than 1,900 fans at Betty Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
“It’s something that we worked really hard for all season,” Buck said on Monday about earning a spot in tournament. “We have no pressure going into the game (against Texas A&M), so I think we need to use that to our advantage and just play our game, do what we do and just hope for an upset.”
This will be the ninth consecutive NCAA tournament for the Aggies (24-8).
The winner of the opening round game will square off on March 25 against either No. 6-seed Gonzaga or No. 11-seed James Madison for a trip to the Sweet 16.
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