Penn women will play Washington in NCAA opener

As the NCAA women's tournament selection show approached, Penn coach Mike McLaughlin wasn't really sure what to expect.

The Quakers finished the season with a 24-4 record, including a 13-1 mark in Ivy League play that earned the program's second conference title in the last three years. They also had a gaudy No. 27 ranking in the women's version of the Ratings Percentage Index - the fifth-best figure of any team not in a power conference.

But what would that actually mean when the bracket was announced? The answer proved to be as good as Penn could have asked for: the No. 10 seed in the Lexington Regional and a trip to College Park, Md., to play Washington on Saturday at 4 p.m.

"It's great to say, now that the regular season's over, that we've been recognized across the country," McLaughlin said.

It's Penn's highest NCAA tournament seed ever, beating the No. 12 seed it received in 2014. Coincidentally, the Quakers also played in College Park that year, losing to Texas in the first round.

"Playing at Maryland, with such a huge crowd, it's definitely an experience I'll never forget," junior center Sydney Stipanovich said. "I'm looking forward to going there with this team. We're going to enjoy the moment."

McLaughlin acknowledged that he hasn't watched the Huskies this season, although obviously that's about to change. More important in the moment was the fact that it's a short trip for the team, the players' families, and the Penn fans who will head down I-95.

It is not an ideal location for the seventh-seeded Huskies, however, as they'll have to fly across the country for the weekend. McLaughlin politely declined to offer any bulletin board material, saying only that "for us it's a great location," and offering a knowing smile.

The Huskies finished fifth in the Pac-12 this season, 11-7 in conference play and 22-10 overall. Their standout wins came against 10th-ranked UCLA at home in the regular season and 13th-ranked Stanford in the conference tournament, which was also played in Seattle.

A few minutes after Penn's name was called, its perennial rival Princeton made history by becoming the first Ivy League team to earn an at-large bid in any NCAA men's or women's basketball tournament. The Tigers will play West Virginia on Friday in Columbus, Ohio.

Even though the Tigers are the Quakers' archrivals, McLaughlin offered congratulations.

"It shows that this league is for real," he said. "Compete, do everything right within the program on and off the court, and eventually people will notice."

Villanova will host Liberty and Rutgers will host Georgetown on Thursday in the first round of the Women's NIT. The game times will be announced on Tuesday.

Drexel will host Temple on Friday.