NCAA Bound Cougar Women to Battle Colorado, Tickets on Sale Monday

PROVO, Utah (Mar. 16, 2003) For the second straight year, BYU's women's basketball team will be playing in the 2003 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship.

The Cougars (19-11, 8-6) are one of 64-teams selected to the tournament as the no. 11 seed in the Mideast Regional.

"We're very excited to be in the tournament two years in a row," said BYU head coach Jeff Judkins. "I'm very proud of our team this season especially for the adversities they've had this year. The team really came together at the MWC tournament."

BYU plays hosts and no. six seed Colorado (22-7) on Saturday at a yet to be determined time. The other two teams in the bracket are North Carolina with a 27-5 record and Austin Peay (27-3).

The Buffaloes finished 4th in the Big 12 regular season and finished 1- 1 in the league tournament falling to Texas 47-62 in the semifinals.

"We feel very confident about our chances with Colorado, they are a good match-up for us," commented Coach Judkins.

This will be the Cougars fourth NCAA appearance. BYU made it to the "Sweet Sixteen" last year, beating Florida 90-52, upsetting hosts Iowa State 75-68, before falling to Final Four participant Tennessee 57-68.

BYU is one of three Mountain West Conference teams that made it in to this year's tournament. New Mexico was an automatic qualifier by winning the league's championship. The University of Utah who won the MWC regular season title also made the 64-team selection.

Tickets on Sale Monday

Tickets for BYU's first round game of the 2003 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament vs. Colorado will go on sale Monday, March 17, through the Colorado University ticket office. Game times have not been announced.

Session tickets are available in two section. Mid-court chair seats are available for $30, while mid-court bleacher seats are $24 for public and $12 for students.

Tickets may be purchased by calling 1-800-87buffs or 1-303-49buffs. Tickets are also available on line at http://cubuffs.ocsn.com/tickets/colo-tickets-wbaskbl.html.