LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The no. 9 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs open their NCAA Tournament run on Friday against No. 8 Nebraska. The game will be played in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Bulldogs enter the tournament at 26-6 and fresh off a West Coast Conference championship where the Zags won 71-59 over BYU.
The Huskers are 24-8 on the season. They lost to Iowa 83-66 in the Big Ten Tournament.
Game time and how to watch
For those of you wondering what channel the Gonzaga-Nebraska women’s basketball game is on, here are the details:
The Gonzaga vs Nebraska NCAA Tournament game will be aired on ESPN News. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. PDT on Friday, March 18.
The game will also be streamed live on Watch ESPN and ESPN Plus.
What to know about the Gonzaga Bulldogs women’s basketball team
Gonzaga enters to tournament fresh off a win over BYU in the WCC tournament. After struggling against the Cougars all season, the Zags put together perhaps their best performance all season in the 71-59 win.
"Beating BYU helped us a lot, it gave us a lot of momentum and showed our team what we're capable of," Senior forward Melody Kempton said.
Gonzaga is led by Kempton, junior guard Kayleigh Truong, and sophomore forward Yvonne Ejim.
Kempton and Truong were both named to the All-WCC Women’s Basketball First Team.
This is Kempton’s second year in a row on the All-WCC team. She currently leads the Zags with an average of 10.9 points per game and 6.3 rebounds.
Truong has earned All-WCC honors for the past three years, including an honorable mention last year and All-Freshman two seasons ago. Truong is averaging 10.8 points per game along with 3.8 assists.
Ejim was named the Sixth Woman of the Year in the WCC along with being selected to the All-WCC Second Team. Ejim is averaging 10 points per game this season and 5.6 rebounds per game. She also leads the Bulldogs with 44 steals.
For many players, this is their first experience with the tournament in its full glory after COVID-19 precautions last year prevented normal play. For head coach Lisa Fortier, that just makes this year that much more special.
"It's a big deal," she said. "You do it for the games, but you do it for much more than that. As a coach I can think back to each big win, or each big, bad loss, and I can pick that stuff apart. But as a player, I remember the fun things I got to do with my teammates. For these guys, they'll remember that."