BYU women draw No. 7 seed, will open NCAA tourney vs. Auburn

(Scott G. Winterton, KSL)


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

PROVO — While the BYU men’s basketball team ended its season without a postseason invitation for the first time since the beginning of the Dave Rose era, the BYU women kept marching on Monday.

That wasn’t a surprise after the Cougars guaranteed themselves a berth to the NCAA women’s tournament last Tuesday.

But by Monday afternoon, when the group of fully rested and anxious Cougars met in the BYU broadcasting to await their tournament selection, the nerves were building.

Who would it be? Where would they go?

The Cougars learned the answers pretty quick (and that's not even mentioning the alleged ESPNU leak dubbed "Bracket-gate" by women's basketball media).

BYU will face SEC foe Auburn in the Stanford Regional beginning Saturday afternoon in Stanford, California.

California. SEC. NCAA. Sounds like a great vacation for the Cougars.

But Saturday's 1:30 p.m. MT tipoff will be all business for BYU — even if their flight to the Bay Area is considerably shorter than Auburn's.

"It’s really nice because I think we’ll have a bigger fanbase in California," said BYU junior Brenna Chase, who leads the team with 84 3-pointers. "But it would’ve been exciting to go somewhere else as well.

"We're just happy to be in the tournament. It’s going to be fun."

BYU players do a instagram video as they celebrate their win over Gonzaga to claim the WCC tournament championship at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Tuesday, March 12, 2019. BYU won 82-68. (Photo: Scott G Winterton, KSL)
BYU players do a instagram video as they celebrate their win over Gonzaga to claim the WCC tournament championship at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Tuesday, March 12, 2019. BYU won 82-68. (Photo: Scott G Winterton, KSL)

The Cougars (25-6) drew a No. 7 seed, to open the tournament against Auburn. No. 2 Stanford (28-4) will play UC Davis (25-6) in the other regional contest. It’s the Cougars’ third No. 7 seed in 13 NCAA Tournament appearances, matching a program-high.

The last time BYU was a seven seed and facing an NCAA opponent, the Cougars were upset by 10th-seeded Missouri, 78-69 in a first-round game in Austin, Texas.

But the last time BYU played in an NCAA Tournament game in California, the Cougars advanced to the Sweet 16 after beating North Carolina State and Nebraska in Los Angeles.

The Cougars also own a win at Stanford, early in head coach Jeff Judkins' tenure back in 2006, when BYU went to Maples Pavilion as part of the Preseason WNIT and upset the Cardinal, 55-52 to tie the all-time series at 2-2.

"It's a great atmosphere; what a beautiful campus," Judkins recalled. "We've been lucky there, and hopefully that luck continues."

Of course, the Cougars' SEC opponent will be a different challenge. BYU has never faced a team from Auburn, Alabama, an athletic team that finished sixth in the SEC behind powerhouses like Mississippi State, a No. 1 seed in the tournament at 30-2, and No. 14 Texas A&M.

The Tigers (22-9) finished non-conference play at 13-2, with wins over New Mexico, Oklahoma and North Carolina, to name a few.

"They're a more athletic team, getting to the rim, run up and down," Chase said. "They aren't as much of a set-up (and) shooting team."

Senior guard Janiah McKay leads four double-digit scorers for the Tigers with 13.8 points per game, while Unique Thompson, a 6-foot-3 sophomore forward from nearby Theodore, Alabama, averages a double-double at 12.2 points and 10 rebounds per game.

Daisa Alexander (12.6 ppg) and Crystal Primm (10.4 ppg) will also be a handful for the Cougars, who clinched the West Coast Conference’s automatic bid with a win over then-No. 12 Gonzaga in the tournament final last Tuesday in Las Vegas.

The Cougars are bolstered themselves by a trio of high-octane guards. Freshman point guard Shaylee Gonzales, sophomore Paisley Johnson, and junior Brenna Chase pace BYU's offense.

A team that loses just one senior from the active roster has yet to show fear this season, though — even when the Cougars were picked to finish third in the West Coast Conference. They rallied for a second-place regular-season finish, then became the only team in the country to beat Gonzaga three times en route to a WCC Tournament title, and have had the program on the fringe of the AP Top 25 since conference play began in January.

"This team is not afraid," Judkins said. "We've played Cal, TCU, Utah and Gonzaga, and we practice against a really good team.

"Maybe (San Francisco 49ers legend and former BYU quarterback) Steve Young will show up from San Francisco. But hopefully, we’ll get a really good turnout like we did a few years ago when we went to LA."

BYU wasn't the only team in the West Coast Conference to earn a bid. The Zags (28-4) will open the tournament as a No. 5 seed against 12th-seeded Arkansas-Little Rock (21-10) in Corvallis, Oregon. No. 4 Oregon State (24-7) will host Mountain West champion Boise State (28-4) in the other game of the Corvallis subregional.

Related stories

Most recent BYU Cougars stories

Related topics

BYU CougarsSports
KSL.com BYU and college sports reporter

ARE YOU GAME?

From first downs to buzzer beaters, get KSL.com’s top sports stories delivered to your inbox weekly.
By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

KSL Weather Forecast