No. 7 Seed BYU women’s basketball to play No. 10 seed Auburn in March Madness

PROVO, Utah — For the first time since 2016, the BYU women’s basketball team (25-6) is participating in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championships. The No. 7 Seed BYU plays No. 10 seed Auburn (22-9) on Saturday, Mar. 23, at 12:30 p.m. PDT in Stanford, Calif.

ABOUT BYU

• The Cougars received the automatic bid into this year’s championships after defeating No. 16 Gonzaga 82-68 in the West Coast Conference tournament title game. The WCC title was the third for BYU since joining the WCC in 2011.
• For the third time since participating in the NCAA tournament, the Cougars get the No. 7 seed. The team was a No. 7 seed in 2016 and in 2006.
• When competing in the NCAA championships, BYU has compiled a 5-12 record, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen twice—in 2002 and 2014. The last time the Cougars competed in the tournament was in 2016 where they lost in the first round to Missouri.
• The Cougars enter the postseason tournament on an eight-game win streak.
• Heading into the championships, BYU received 24 votes in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and is just three spots out of the top 25. The Cougars were ranked No. 25 on Jan. 28 but fell out of the poll the week of Feb. 4.
• The Cougars are averaging 69.2 points and 37.9 rebounds a game. They are holding opponents to just 62.8 points per contest. BYU is shooting 42.8 percent from the field, 34.5 percent from behind the arc and 70.0 percent from the free throw line.

ABOUT AUBURN

• Auburn has compiled a 22-9 overall record and entered the SEC Tournament as a No. 6 seed. The Tigers fell to Texas A&M in the quarterfinals of their conference tournament. This will be the first time that BYU and Auburn have played.
• Auburn is averaging 71.9 points and 34.2 rebounds a game. Their defensive presence is keeping opponents at scoring just 63.3 points a contest. The Tigers shoot 42.2 percent from the field, 32.3 percent from 3-point range and 71.1 percent from the free throw line.

UP NEXT FOR BYU
A win over Auburn would send the Cougars to the Second Round of the NCAA Championships to be played on Monday, March 25. They would play the winner of Saturday’s game between No. 2 seed and host Stanford and No. 15 seed UC Davis.

QUOTES
Head coach Jeff Judkins:

“It’s pretty nice. We're excited to get to play in the NCAA tournament. We get to go to California and play a good team in Auburn. I haven’t seen Auburn but I know they’re very athletic and they’re in a great league. They’re very physical so it will be a big challenge for us.”

Senior forward Jasmine Moody:

“No one expected us to get a seven seed, so this is really exciting for us.  Auburn is a really good team and we’re going to have to prepare well. The coaches prepare us well so I know that we can do it .”

Junior guard Brenna Chase:

“I’m really excited to go to Stanford, I’ve never been there. Auburn is a good team, but I’m excited to play them and make some noise. It’s going to be fun.”