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Behold some very happy Cats! And their joy is warranted - not only do they get a three seed, but they get to host the first two rounds of their region within the warm and friendly confines of Memorial Arena.
Oh, and there is no UConn in their bracket. Instead the Cats get Muffet McGraw's feisty Notre Dame squad and their 5'11' Senior Guard Kayla McBride. AND they have a potential rematch with Odyssey Sims and Baylor. But more on that fun later, for now let's look at our immediate known matchups.
First up, on Saturday at 11 EDT the Cats face the Wright State Raiders. Mike Bradbury and his squad won the Horizon League championship Sunday to earn the program's first ever ticket to the Big Dance. Players to watch include Kim Demmings, who averages 23 pts. a game. Demmings shoots 43% from the field and hurls up a lot of 3s, averaging 7 attempts per game and landing 35%. You'll also want to keep an eye on Ivory James, the Lady Raider's 2nd best shooter, who averages 17 pts. a game. James shoots 44% from the field and is 35% from three-point range.
Assuming we get past the Raiders, next up for the Cats is either Syracuse or Chattanooga Monday at 6:30 EDT. Syracuse is coming off a 22-9 season inaugural season in the ACC. Chattanooga is fresh off a Southern Conference Tournament victory over Davidson, and a 29-3 season to include a sweep of the SoCo table and a perfect 13-0 record at home.
From there the Cats will face either Cal, Fordham, Baylor or Western Kentucky on 3/29. I'm not saying it's going to be Baylor, but will say it seems a lot more likely that we'll face the Waco version of the Bears than the Berkeley ones.
Until Saturday, Cat fans - Happy Dancing!