Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Earns Bid to NCAA Women's Basketball Championship
3/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern University earned an at-large bid to the 2015 NCAA Division Women's Basketball Championship it was announced Monday evening (March 16).
The Wildcats (23-8, 12-6 Big Ten) received the No. 7 seed in the Oklahoma City Region and open tournament play at 11 a.m. Friday, March 20 against 10th-seeded Arkansas (17-13, 6-10 SEC) in Waco, Texas. The game is being televised by ESPN2.
The winner of the matchup between Northwestern and Arkansas will take on the victor of the contest between host Baylor (30-3) and Northwestern State (19-14) on Sunday.
The 'Cats will be making their seventh all-time appearance in school history and their first since 1997. That season, Northwestern suffered a 61-46 opening-round loss to a George Washington squad that was led by current Wildcats head coach Joe McKeown.
This year's NU squad went undefeated during the month of February, winning all eight of its contests. The Wildcats tied for fourth place in the Big Ten during the regular season and have won nine of their last 11 contests. Both losses came to undefeated conference champion Maryland.
Northwestern is led by first-team All-Big Ten selection Nia Coffey. The sophomore forward paces the team with averages of 15.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per contest. The Wildcats sport a balanced scoring attack overall as six different players are averaging at least 8.7 points per game.
Arkansas is led by the sophomore duo of Jessica Jackson and Kelsey Brooks who are averaging 14.9 and 14.1 points per game, respectively. The Razorbacks -- coached by Jimmy Dykes -- finished tied for ninth in the SEC and defeated Ole Miss in their first game of the conference tournament before falling to top-seeded South Carolina.
Arkansas holds a 2-1 lead in the all-time series with Northwestern. The teams last met Dec. 17, 2009 in Evanston with the Wildcats recording a 67-55 victory.
Tickets for the opening-round games in Waco can be purchased by visiting BaylorBears.com.
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