1/4
Dayton guard Makira Cook (3) leads the Flyers in points per game. Photo by Erik Schelkun/Dayton Athletics
March 16 (UPI) — Incarnate Word and Howard will meet Wednesday in the first-ever First Four women’s college basketball tournament game. Eight total First Four foes will fight for inclusion into the largest tournament field in history.
Incarnate Word (13-16) and Howard (20-9) tip off at 7 p.m. EDT at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C. The winner of the 16-seed matchup will advance to battle No. 1 overall seed South Carolina in the first round of the month-long tournament.
No. 11 seeds Dayton (25-5) and DePaul (22-10) will face off in the next First Four game at 9 p.m. in Ames, Iowa. The winner of that matchup will face No. 6 Georgia in the first round.
The first two games air on ESPNU.
The final two women’s First Four games feature No. 16 seeds Mount St. Mary’s (16-12) versus Longwood (21-11) and No. 11 seeds Florida State (17-13) versus Missouri State (24-7). Those games air at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., respectively, Thursday on ESPN 2.
Longwood faces Mount St. Mary’s in Raleigh, N.C. Missouri State takes on Florida State in Baton Rouge, La.
The winner of the Mount St. Mary’s-Longwood game will face No. 1 North Carolina State in the first round. Florida State or Missouri State will meet No. 6 Ohio State in the first round.
Incarnate Word guard Jauaucklyn Moore, Howard’s Anzhane Hutton and Destiny Howell, Dayton’s Makira Cook, DePaul’s Aneesah Morrow, Longwood’s Kyla McMakin, Mount St. Mary’s’ Kendall Bresee, Missouri State’s Abigayle Jackson and Florida State’s Bianca Jackson are among the top players to watch in the women’s First Four.
DePaul is one of the top teams in the First Four. Morrow ranks 11th in the nation with 21.7 points per game and leads the country with 13.8 rebounds per game. DePaul also leads the nation with 88. 3 points per game.
Expanded Field
The NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament started in 1982 with 32 teams. The tournament field increased several times until it hit 64 in 1994. That format remained in place through last season — until this year’s play-in, First Four expansion.
While the field increased, it might not mean much for the lowest-seeded teams invited. No. 16 seeds have a 1-108 record in tournament games. Only Harvard, which upset top-seeded Stanford in the 1998 tournament, advanced to the second round.
No. 14 and No. 15 seeds are 0-216 all-time in the first round. No. 13 seeds are 10-108 in the women’s tournament. No. 12 seeds are 27-108.
No. 1 seeds have a 415-87 all-time record in the women’s tournament. They also claimed 21 national titles. Arkansas, which was seeded No. 9 in 1998, is the lowest seed in history to advance to a Final Four. All 27 of the tournament’s champions were seeded either No. 1, 2 or 3.
In addition to matching the men’s tournament with the 68-team field and First Four format, the women’s tournament also will incorporate “March Madness” branding for its competition.
The NCAA announced that move in September based on recommendations it received from an external review of gender equity issues within college sports.
The term is commonly associated with the men’s tournament, but was long absent from women’s tournament marketing campaigns.
Fans will get an initial chance to see how March Madness is incorporated when Incarnate Word and Howard meet Wednesday in Columbia.
Women’s First Four (All times Eastern)
Wednesday
No. 16 Incarnate Word vs. No. 16 Howard at 7 p.m. on ESPNU
No. 11 DePaul vs. No. 11 Dayton at 9 p.m. on ESPNU
Thursday
No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s vs. No. 16 Longwood at 7 p.m. on ESPN 2
No. 11 Florida State vs. No. 11 Missouri State
