For the 23th straight year and 25th time overall, the University of Notre Dame women's basketball team is dancing in the NCAA Championship. The Irish were named a No. 1 seed in the Spokane Regional and will host First & Second Round action inside Purcell Pavilion starting on Friday, March 16, at 5 p.m. ET.
(See 2018 Irish WBB NCAA Central website)
The Irish received a No. 1 seed for the seventh consecutive year and eighth time in program history. Notre Dame is 30-6 all-time as a top seed. In addition, Notre Dame received First & Second Round hosting duties for the 13th time, where they are 18-2 in NCAA play inside Purcell Pavilion, including the winners of 12 straight.
To continue the winning streak at home, the Irish will first battle CSUN at 5 p.m. on ESPN2. The Matadors went 19-15 overall and won the Big West Tournament after upsetting No. 1 seed UC Davis.
The nightcap of Friday's First Round doubleheader will feature No. 8 seed South Dakota State clash with No. 9 seed Villanova at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2. The Jackrabbits of South Dakota State are making their eighth NCAA Tournament appearance after going 26-6 and winning the Summit League Championship. Meanwhile, Villanova is making its 11th NCAA appearance and first since 2013 after going 22-8 overall and 12-6 in the Big East.
Notre Dame's tournament resume certainly spoke for itself: a 29-3 record on the nation's No. 1 strength of schedule, the second most ranked wins (9) in the country, the most ranked wins away from home (7), the most RPI top-50 victories (15) and a fifth straight ACC regular season title in the nation's toughest-rated RPI conference.
As a conference, eight ACC teams made the Big Dance, which tied the league record set in both 2014 and 2015. The eight teams were the most of any conference this year.
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All-session and single-session tickets for this weekend's NCAA Championship games are on sale now at UND.com/buytickets. Tickets are also available by phone (574-631-7356) or in person at the Murnane Family Athletics Ticket Office (Gate 9 at Purcell Pavilion) beginning at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Lastly, Notre Dame Women's Basketball will host an autograph session and ticket pickup event in the main lobby of Purcell Pavilion on Tuesday from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Fans can pick up their NCAA tickets, meet the team and enjoy FREE pizza!
First and Second Round Pricing
All-session
Adult: $32.00
Youth: $20.00
First Round Only
Adult: $17.00
Youth: $12.00
Second Round Only
Adult: $21.00
Youth: $15.00
Club Naimoli
All-Session: $62.00
First Round: $42.00
Second Round: $32.00