Michigan women's basketball a No. 6 seed in NCAA Tournament, will take on UNLV
Michigan Wolverines women’s basketball (22-9) has been selected to its 11th overall NCAA Tournament, a No. 6 seed set to take on No. 11 seed UNLV in Baton Rouge, La., Friday (March 17). The Maize and Blue are part of the Greenville 2 Region. The winner of the first-round matchup will play either No. 3 seed LSU or No. 14 seed Hawai’i.
The Greenville 2 Region is headlined by No. 1 seed Indiana, which Michigan lost to twice in the regular season, No. 2 seed Utah, No. 3 seed LSU and No. 4 seed Villanova. For the first time ever, half the bracket will play its regional in Greenville and half will compete in Seattle.
Michigan’s No. 6 seed is its highest ever, tied with its 2021 selection and behind last year’s No. 3 seeding.
RELATED: NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Bracket
Michigan is 10-10 overall in the NCAA Tournament, highlighted by last year’s Elite Eight appearance, the furthest the Wolverines have gone. They have a chance to make three-straight Sweet 16s this month.
Michigan head coach Kim Barnes Arico will be making her 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, with the first four coming at St. John’s (2006, ’10, ’11, ’12). She is 13-9 all time in the tournament and has reached three Sweet 16s and last year’s Elite Eight. She’s the only coach in program history to guide the Wolverines to six NCAA Tournaments.
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UNLV has made two straight NCAA Tournaments, earning a No. 13 seed last season and falling to No. 4 seed Arizona, 72-67, in the first round. The Rebels are 31-2 on the season and breezed through the Mountain West with a perfect 18-0 mark. They won the conference tournament, beating Nevada, San Diego State and Wyoming.
Michigan is led by fifth-year senior guard Leigha Brown and graduate forward Emily Kiser, both of whom were named first-team All-Big Ten. Brown averages 18 points and 5.2 rebounds per game and registered a team-high 165 assists. Kiser, meanwhile, puts up 16.2 points and a team-best 7.1 boards per contest.
Sophomore guard Laila Phelia missed all of February and the beginning of March with a lower body injury, but she came back for the Wolverines’ Big Ten Tournament appearance. She scored 13 and 17 in a win over Penn State and loss to Ohio State, respectively. The second-team All-Big Ten selection is averaging 16.9 points per contest, shooting 44.5 percent from the field, including 41.6 percent from three-point range, and has dished out 37 assists.
