Tipoff of the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the University of Portland women’s basketball team has officially been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. PST on Friday, March 22. The faceoff between the No. 13 seeded Pilots and the No. 4 seeded Kansas State Wildcats is set to take place in Manhattan, Kansas.
According to an email sent to The Beacon by Kyle Garcia, the athletics communications point of contact, the Pilots depart for Manhattan on Wednesday, March 20 where they will continue preparation for Friday’s matchup. A sendoff for the team will be taking place in the Chiles Center service lot promptly at 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday, March 20 as they depart campus.
The No. 5 seeded University of Colorado will be joining the Pilots in Manhattan on Saturday, March 23 to take on No. 12 seeded Drake University.
If the Pilots are victorious against the Kansa State Wildcats, they will move on to play the winner of the Colorado/Drake game in the second round of the tournament, scheduled to take place Sunday, March 24. If the Pilots lose to Kansas State in the opening round game, their postseason run will come to an end.
Members of the UP community celebrate in the Pilot House as the women's basketball team wins the WCC Championship.
According to an email sent to The Beacon by Kyle Garcia, there are several opportunities both on and off campus to watch the game between the Pilots and Kansas State. The game will be streamed in the Pilot House on campus for fans, as well as, at off-campus locations, Chill N Fill and The Sports Bra PDX.
If you’re not able to attend any of these events, you can also support the Pilots by catching the game on ESPNEWS.
Emma Swett is a sports reporter for The Beacon and can be reached at swett25@up.edu.
