The 4-seed Wildcats take on the 13-seed Pilots in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Tournament
Welcome to the 2024 NCAA Women’s Tournament!
This has been the expectation for this Kansas State program all season. Not only return to the Big Dance, but host the opening rounds. After finishing with a 25-7 overall record and a 13-5 finish in the Big 12, the Cats earned a 4-seed and with it earned the right to host.
Hosting is a big deal — it’s big for K-State and Manhattan on many levels. On the basketball side, it gives the MittieCats a huge boost from a friendly crowd, in a facility where the Cats went 15-1 this season, and no lag at all from travel. It also helps set-up the Wildcats to do something they haven’t done in 22 years: advance to the Sweet 16.
But first, they have to get through today’s game with a win. They face the Portland Pilots, who went 21-12 overall and 10-6 in the West Coast Conference, and won three straight games in the conference tournament to earn the WCC’s auto-bid. The Pilots are making just their seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament, but their second straight after also earning their spot last season. The Pilots play really good defense, but their offense sputters at times. They managed to knock off Gonzaga, right with K-State in the rankings and a fellow 4-seed, 67-66 in the WCC championship game, but had been blown out by the Zags in their two regular season matchups.
On paper, this is a game K-State should win easily, especially with a healthy Ayoka Lee. But expect the Pilots to grind it out and try to stay in the game, and they’ll be able to if they can force K-State into mistakes. K-State just needs to play its game its way, and they should be able to keep dancing.
This afternoon’s tipoff in the Round of 64 of the NCAA Tournament is at 3:30pm CT from Bramlage Colisuem, and can be seen on ESPNews (WatchESPN) with Brenda VanLengen (play-by-play) and Holly Warlick (analyst) on the call. You can also listen to Brian Smoller (play-by-play) and Kristin Waller (analyst) call the action online at K-StateSports.com and via the Varsity Network app, as well as over-the-air in the Manhattan area on Sunny 102.5 FM and on KMAN (1350AM, 93.3/93.7FM).
Go Cats!