VILLANOVA, Pa.—For the first time since 2023 and the 14^th time in program history, the Villanova women's basketball team is headed to the NCAA Tournament. The field of 68 teams for this year's tournament was announced on Sunday night live on ESPN and the Wildcats drew a #10 seed in Regional 2 where they will play a first round game on Friday, March 20 in Baton Rouge, La. against #7 seed Texas Tech (25-7). Game time will be announced later Sunday night.
 
Villanova has already won 25 games this season and finished second in the BIG EAST regular season standings. During the year, the Wildcats were the only team to hold a halftime lead against undefeated and top-ranked BIG EAST foe Connecticut. Villanova finished 16-4 in regular season conference play and advanced to the championship game of the conference tournament for the third time in the last five years. This is the fourth NCAA Tournament appearance for Wildcats head coach Denise Dillon, including her third in six seasons at Villanova.
 
The winner of Friday's first round game will advance to a second round matchup on Sunday, March 22, against the winning team in a first round contest between #2 seed Louisiana State (27-5) and #15 seed Jacksonville (24-8). One of the four teams from those first and second round games will move on to a regional semifinal in Sacramento, Calif. Villanova is 11-13 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and reached the Sweet 16 in their last trip to the 'Big Dance' in 2023.
 
This is the 22^nd time in the last 25 seasons that the Wildcats are advancing to national postseason play. Regardless of the tournament, there is seldom a tougher out than Villanova. Dillon is 12-5 in national postseason tournaments as the head coach of her alma mater, including the Sweet 16 appearance in 2023 followed by reaching the WBIT championship game in 2024 and advancing to a semifinal contest last year. In the history of the program, the Wildcats are 45-32 (.584) in postseason play.
 
Villanova is led by sophomore guard Jasmine Bascoe who was named a first team All-BIG EAST selection for the second straight year. Bascoe is already a 1,000-point scorer in her career (1,154 points) and is averaging 18.8 points per game along with four rebounds per game, 4.8 assists per contest and 63 steals. She was joined by junior forward Brynn McCurry and freshman guard Kennedy Henry in earning postseason BIG EAST recognition. McCurry was named to the All-BIG EAST second team and Henry landed spots on both the All-Freshman Team and the All-Defensive Team. She has already set the Wildcats freshman record with 72 steals this season (2.4 steals per game).
 
Friday's first round game will be the first-ever meeting between Villanova and Texas Tech. The Lady Raiders have an identical record to the Wildcats this season at 25-7 and they compiled a 12-6 record in the Big 12 regular season standings before falling in the second round of the conference tournament. Texas Tech head coach Krista Gerlich was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year while senior Snudda Collins was named the league's Sixth Player of the Year and earned All-Big 12 honors along with teammates Bailey Maupin and Jalynn Bristow.