East Carolina Athletics

East Carolina, South Florida To Represent The American In The 2023 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship

03.12.23

IRVING, Texas – On the heels of winning its first American Athletic Conference women’s basketball tournament championship, East Carolina led a pair of American selections into the 2023 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship during the NCAA selection show on Sunday. The Pirates earned the No. 13 seed in the Seattle Region and will face No. 4 Texas on March 18 in Austin, Texas, and South Florida claimed the eighth seed in the Greenville Region and will face off with No. 9 Marquette on March 17. Tip times are still to be determined.
 
Multiple teams from The American have entered every NCAA Tournament that has been contested since the conference was reconstituted in 2013-14.
 
After being picked last in the Preseason Coaches Poll, East Carolina (23-9) pulled off the Cinderella story of the season for The American, winning the conference tournament to claim their first American Athletic Conference championship. Senior guard Danae McNeal was named American Most Improved Player and American Defensive Player of the Year, Amiya Joyner was named American Freshman of the Year and head coach Kim McNeill was named American Coach of the Year. The Pirates are one of the top defensive teams in the country, ranking 3rd in NCAA Division I in steals per game (13.2) and turnovers forced per game (24.2). East Carolina will make its third all-time NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2007.
                                                                                  
South Florida (26-6) finished as regular season American Athletic Conference champions and spent the final six weeks of the season ranked in the Top 25 in either the AP Poll or the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Bulls feature American Players of the Year in seniors Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu and Elena Tsineke.  The Bulls are fifth in the country in rebounding margin (+10.5) and feature wins against Texas (4-seed) and Alabama (10-seed). South Florida will make its ninth all-time NCAA Tournament appearance and sixth as a member of The American, and the Bulls have advanced to the NCAA Second Round four times under head coach Jose Fernandez.
 
American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball
2023 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship
 
NCAA First Round – Friday, March 17/Saturday, March 18
No. 8 South Florida vs. No. 9 Marquette – Greenville Region; Columbia, South Carolina (Friday, March 17)
No. 4 Texas vs No. 13 East Carolina – Seattle Region; Austin, Texas (Saturday, March 18)