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PROVO — The BYU women's basketball team was disappointed with its second-place finish in the West Coast Conference tournament last week, and it made for a nerve-wracking Selection Monday.
Right until the very last region was announced on ESPN.
"I was really nervous. I think I was more nervous watching that than how I get in the games," senior point guard Kylie Maeda said. "They made us wait until the last minute, but we're excited that we're in and that we can play again."
The long wait in Studio C of the BYU Broadcasting Building was worth it, though.
BYU received an at-large selection and a No. 7 seed Monday to the NCAA Women's Tournament, where the Cougars will face 10th-seeded Missouri (21-9) at 4:30 p.m. MDT Saturday in Austin, Texas (ESPN2). With a win, BYU — which is making its third-straight NCAA appearance and eighth under head coach Jeff Judkins — will face the winner of second-seeded Texas (28-4) and Alabama State (19-11) on Monday.
"They waited until the last bracket, and it would've been a lot easier being the first," Judkins said with his trademark humor. "But I'm happy. I think we got what we deserved; if we had won the tournament, we probably would've been a little higher.
"I feel really good about playing Missouri. I've seen them play a little bit, and they'll be a good matchup for us."
BYU (26-6) drew itself into No. 1 overall seed Connecticut's regional in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The three-time defending national champion Huskies are going for their NCAA-record fourth-straight title.
The last time the Cougars found themselves in UConn's regional, BYU lost to the Huskies in the Sweet 16 in Lincoln, Nebraska.
With the bracket-reveal show running out and limited spots for BYU and its no Sunday play policy, the Cougars were sweating as the final teams were announced. The Huskies' Bridgeport bracket was the last to be announced — and the team sighed collectively as Robert Morris, Seton Hall and Duquesne were revealed in the Storrs subregional alongside the top seeds.
It's not that the Cougars are afraid of UConn — BYU led by as many as six points in its last outing against the Huskies, and were within 30-29 at halftime before UConn took over down the stretch of the 70-51 win.
"Seeding matters, and matchups really matter. When you get a good matchup, that puts you in a good position," BYU leading scorer Lexi Eaton Rydalch said.
Still, the Huskies are going for their historic fourth-straight national title for a reason.
"You don't want to meet a team like that too early. But it's fun to go against them," Rydalch said of UConn. "We gave them a pretty good game last time, and we're confident. We're ready to come out fists-flying for any team."
The Cougars' No. 7 seed is tied for the highest in program history, and marks a significant level of respect nationally by the tournament selection committee after last week's loss to San Francisco in the WCC tournament championship.
Rydalch advanced to the tournament for her fourth season, becoming the first player in BYU women's basketball history to accomplish such a feat. Rydalch, the WCC's all-time leading scorer in men's and women's basketball, is the No. 5 scorer in the NCAA, averaging 24.3 points per game. Her teammate Kalani Purcell averages 12.7 rebounds per game, the fifth-best mark in the country.
No. 7 BYU (26-6) vs. No. 10 Missouri (21-9)
When: Saturday, 4:30 p.m. MT
Broadcast: ESPN 2 /BYU Radio
Winner will face Texas-Alabam State winner Monday
In other words, this year's team was significantly different than the one that made the tourney even a year ago before losing in the first round to Louisville.
"I think last year we were scratching and clawing to make it into the tournament," Rydalch said. "This time, we played tough teams in the preseason and have some experience. We're hoping to be prepared and ready to go."
BYU faced six tournament teams, including Texas A&M, which drew a No. 4 seed the same season BYU beat the then-11th ranked Aggies in Hawaii. No. 8 Georgia will face No. 9 Indiana in the Notre Dame subregional. Mountain West champion Colorado State will play South Florida as an 11-seed in Los Angeles, and Hawaii (21-10) will face host UCLA at the same site.
Oklahoma, which defeated the Cougars 73-47 in the third game of the year, will face 11th-seeded Purdue in Lexington, Kentucky.
The WCC's other NCAA entrant, tourney champion San Francisco, drew a 13-seed and will play Saturday at No. 4 Stanford in the Dons' first NCAA tournament since 1997.
South Carolina, Notre Dame and Baylor joined Connecticut as the tournament's four No. 1 seeds.
"This has been the longest week of mankind," Judkins said. "We knew we were the best team and should've won, but we didn't do what we needed to do. The fastest way of getting that taste out of your mouth is to play, and then we had to wait around; it's been tough. We had a good practice today, and we'll get back to what we need to do."
