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PROVO — The Cougars are dancing after all.
A week after losing to Gonzaga on Jill Townsend's buzzer-beating field goal with 0.6 seconds left, the BYU women's basketball team earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in San Antonio.
The 11th-seeded Cougars will face No. 6 Rutgers at 10 a.m. MT Monday (ESPNU) in the tournament's opening round.
BYU (18-5) were the ultimate bubble team entering Selection Monday; noted bracketologist Charlie Creme of ESPN projected the Cougars to narrowly miss the field, being among the First Four Out in his final column filed to ESPN.com prior to the selection show.
He wasn't alone; BYU's Paisley Johnson Harding admitted on Instagram live leading up to the announcement that there was plenty of skepticism from the Cougars, even going so far as to say, "We didn't think we would, but we're going."
"I thought we deserved it," added BYU coach Jeff Judkins, who admitted his team was "shocked" by the inclusion. "Sometimes you deserve it and don't get in, but I really thought we deserved it for a lot of reasons. The big reason is we dealt with COVID-19 as well as anybody.
"I thought we played Gonzaga is well as anybody, and probably should've beat them all three times, to tell you the truth … and I think BYU has a good name for itself in basketball."
.@byuwbb is dancing! Cougs earn the No. 11 seed in the #ncaaW Tournament's Mercado region and will face Rutgers on Monday in San Antonio. #WCChoops | #GoCougspic.twitter.com/s4YvvsGXp0
— WCC Basketball (@WCChoops) March 16, 2021
Still, the Cougars went back to work. After returning to Provo following the last-second loss to Gonzaga, Judkins gave the team a day off to recover. Then, they were back to work, knowing that some postseason — even if it was the WNIT — likely awaited them. Thursday's practice was a little rough. Friday's got better. By Monday's workout, the Cougars were back to normal, though.
They didn't know if their 14th appearance in the NCAA Tournament was looming. But they were ready to play — whomever, where ever, whenever.
"After that Gonzaga game, it was definitely very, very devastating and frustrating. We didn't expect to lose that game with 0.6 seconds left," said BYU guard Shaylee Gonzales, who averages a team-high 17.4 points per game. "But we got back together, and told ourselves we were going to the NCAA Tournament. And if we didn't get in, we were going to win the whole NIT and prove to people that we deserved to be in."
Instead, Houston, DePaul, Notre Dame and Oklahoma were the First Four Out — the first in 24 consecutive seasons the Fighting Irish have been omitted from the field.
When BYU's name appeared on the television screen next to Rutgers, the Cougars lost it. Screaming. Crying. Gonzales and assistant coach Melanie Day hugged each other with tear-stained faces.
By the time the BYU guard stepped in front of a computer screen to talk to the media a half-hour later, her voice was hoarse and not recovered.
"We were really 50-50, and to hear our name and know we are going dancing, we feel so blessed and so lucky," Gonzales said. "All our hard work was so worth it. It was a really awesome feeling."
Every game of the NCAA women's tournament will be played in the San Antonio area, from March 21 through April 4. Bracket regions are named for San Antonio landmarks —Alama, River Walk, Hemisfair and Mercado — and will be televised by one of the ESPN networks.
The Mercado region! #ncaaWpic.twitter.com/efmJrccVhA
— NCAA Women's Basketball (@ncaawbb) March 15, 2021
BYU will play in the Mercado region, headlined by top-seeded North Carolina State, Texas A&M, Arizona and Indiana. WCC champion Gonzaga is a five-seed in the region, but wouldn't face BYU until the Elite Eight (and a likely win over the No. 1 overall seed).
The WCC is one of the few non-Power Six conferences to receive multiple bids to the tournament, but the tournament field is as wide-open as its ever been. Five teams that were ranked No. 1 by the Associated Press during the season made the field, including current No. 1 Connecticut.
"I think our league's good," Judkins said. "You know it's good when nobody wants to play you, and everyone's dodging you. That helps a lot. Shaylee is a top player, and everyone knows here — and BYU, in general.
"It's really been a great year for BYU athletics."
NC State is the No. 1 overall seed, followed by South Carolina, Stanford and Connecticut. The Huskies will likely be without coach Geno Auriemma for the first weekend, after the legendary coach tested positive for COVID-19 Monday.
Contributing: The Associated Press
