The Notre Dame women’s basketball team received a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday night and will play 11th-seeded Fairfield on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.
Illinois is seeded seventh and will play No. 10 seed Colorado on Saturday in Nashville, Tenn.
Both teams were assigned to Regional 1 in Fort Worth, Texas, in which Connecticut is the No. 1 overall seed and Vanderbilt is the No. 2 seed.
Notre Dame is making its fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance under coach Niele Ivey. The Irish lost in the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight year last season, a disappointment for a team that had reached No. 1 in the rankings last February.
This season has been a different story for the Irish, despite star guard Hannah Hidalgo returning for her junior season. With a new supporting cast, the Irish finished 22-10 and 12-6 in the ACC, their most losses since the 2020-21 season.
But Notre Dame started to come together at the end of the season, pushing back into the Associated Press rankings at No. 22. The Irish won five straight to end the regular season, including at then-No. 10 Louisville. They won their first two ACC Tournament game before losing by two to No. 8 Duke in a semifinal.
Hidalgo remains one of the best players in the country, a two-time ACC Player of the Year and three-time ACC Defender of the Year. She is averaging 25.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.4 steals and 5.3 assists.
Fairfield (28-4, 19-1) won its third straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship to qualify for the tournament. The Stags beat Quinnipiac 51-44 in the conference tournament final, the 11th time they have held an opponent to fewer than 50 points this season.
Against ranked opponents this year, Fairfield lost to North Carolina and Iowa.
Notre Dame would play the winner of the game between No. 3 seed Ohio State and No. 14 Howard in the second round.
This is Illinois’ second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and third in four seasons under coach Shauna Green. The Illini advanced to the second round last season but graduated five seniors from that group.
A young Illinois team went 21-11 this season and 9-9 in Big Ten play. The Illini boosted their NCAA Tournament resume with a pair of wins against Wisconsin and Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament before losing in a quarterfinal to Iowa.
The Illini are led by sophomore forward Berry Wallace, a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection by coaches. She is averaging 18.4 points and 6.2 rebounds, and Green said her tournament experience will be key for the Illini. Forward Cearah Parchment and guard Destiny Jackson were named to the all-freshman team.
“A lot of people might have not thought we would be here, losing 80% of our roster, our scoring, and having a lot of young guys,” Green told reporters after the selection show. “I’m just so proud of these guys. This entire year, we’ve continued to grow, continued to get better, continued to get more chemistry and more together, and now we’re playing in the NCAA Tournament.”
Colorado received an at-large bid after going 22-11 and 11-7 in the Big 12. The Buffaloes had multiple wins against ranked teams, including Baylor, TCU and Texas Tech.
The Illini would play the winner of the High Point-Vanderbilt game if they advance.
The Illinois women held a watch party with fans at the State Farm Center, and Green addressed the crowd afterward, saying she hoped to see a lot of fans in orange and blue in Nashville.
“We’re going to keep on building from this,” Green told them. “But one thing I’ll say, coaching for 20-some years, I don’t care how many times your name is called, never, ever, ever do I or do I want these guys to take this for granted.
“This is why you play the game. This is what you dream about when you’re a kid. This is what you work your entire life for is to hear your named called to be able to play in the NCAA Tournament. This is what it’s about.
“We’ll never take it for granted. I hope you guys never take it for granted. It’s an amazing thing.”
Western Illinois also made the field by winning the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. The Leathernecks (26-5) received a No. 13 seed and will play fourth-seeded North Carolina (26-7) on Friday in Chapel Hill, N.C.
