The University of Mississippi Athletics
Rebels Nab Third NCAA Tournament Bid Under Ross
3/13/2007 | Women's Basketball
INDIANAPOLIS---The 64-team field competing for the 2007 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship was announced today by the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee with the Ole Miss Rebels earning their third bid under head coach Carol Ross and the 17th overall in program history.
"Well we are back in the Big Dance,'" said Ross, who owns a 74-49 overall mark as the leader of the Rebels. "We are excited about the opportunity to compete for a national championship. Only 64 teams get that privilege in women's basketball and we are thrilled that Ole Miss is one of those teams."
Earning No. 1 seeds are Duke University (30-1), University of Tennessee, Knoxville (28-3); University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (30-3); and University of Connecticut (29-3). Duke, Tennessee and Connecticut each won their conference regular season titles in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Southeastern Conference and Big East Conference, respectively, while North Carolina claimed the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship.
Ole Miss, who earned a No. 7 seed in the Dayton Region, will travel to Hartford, Ct., for its first round match-up against the No. 10 seed Texas Christian (21-10) at 12 p.m. (EST) on Sunday, March 18. The Rebels and Horned Frogs have met twice before with Ole Miss picking up wins in both games. TCU, who finished fourth in the Mountain West Conference, is led by junior guard Adrienne Ross, the MWC Co-Player of the Year, who averages 17.5 points and 3.0 steals per game.
The Rebels received their highest seed under Ross after picking up a No. 10 seed in 2004 and a No. 8 seed in 2005. Ole Miss was one of five SEC schools selected for the field. In addition to Tennessee, Vanderbilt, LSU and Georgia were also chosen.
Thirty-one conferences were granted automatic bids for the 2007 championship, and the remaining 33 teams were selected at-large. The Big East placed the most teams in the championship bracket with eight, followed by the Atlantic Coast and Big 12 with six each.
First and second round games will be played at eight sites Saturday, March 17 and Monday, March 19 and Sunday, March 18 and Tuesday, March 20. The 16, second-round winners will advance to the four regional sites. The Fresno Regional (Save Mart Center, Fresno, California) and the Greensboro Regional (Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina) will be Saturday, March 24 and Monday, March 26, while the Dallas Regional (Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas) and the Dayton Regional (University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio) will be Sunday, March 24 and Tuesday, March 26. The four regional winners will meet in the NCAA Women's Final Four, April 1 and 3, at the Quicken Loans Arena (20,704) in Cleveland.
Tennessee continued its appearance streak, participating in all 26 Division I Women's Basketball Championships. University of Georgia and Old Dominion University will be making their 24th appearances. Conversely, nine teams are making their first trip to the tournament this year: Belmont University; Delaware State University; Gonzaga University; University of Louisiana at Lafayette; University of Maryland, Baltimore County; University of North Carolina, Asheville; University of Pittsburgh; Prairie View A&M University; and Robert Morris University.
In the 25-year history of the Division I Women's Basketball Championship, 13 schools have captured the national title, with Tennessee leading the way with six and Connecticut with five. Last year, at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Maryland won its first national championship with a 78-75 overtime victory over Duke.
