The UCLA women’s basketball team had one of the best seasons in program history was rewarded the top overall seed in the NCAA Division I tournament.
The Bruins were joined by South Carolina, Southern California and Texas as the No. 1 seeds when the selection committee revealed the 68-team bracket Sunday night.
The Bruins had two losses this season, both of them to rival Southern Cal — and then avenged their regular-season frustration by beating the Trojans to win the Big Ten tournament title.
“It’s a testament to how hard everyone in this program has worked,” UCLA guard Kiki Rice said. “An overall No. 1 seed doesn’t get us to the Final Four, doesn’t get us to a national championship. We have to go out there and earn it.”
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley felt her team should get the No. 1 overall seed, but unlike last year, when the Gamecocks finished off an undefeated season with a national title (their second in three years), this team has three losses heading into March Madness, including one to the Bruins. The others were to the University of Connecticut, which has more NCAA titles (11) than any program in D-I women’s hoops history, and fellow Southeastern Conference program Texas, although the Longhorns also lost twice to the Gamecocks.