UConn was awarded the No. 1 overall seed in the women’s NCAA Tournament on Sunday and enters March Madness needing six more victories to complete the seventh undefeated season in school history.
The Huskies (34-0) are looking for their 13th national title and trying to become the first team to repeat as champion since the program won four in a row from 2013-16. UConn is joined by UCLA, Texas and South Carolina as the other No. 1 seeds.
UConn, which is led by stars Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd, opens the tournament at home against 16th-seeded UTSA and will play in the Fort Worth Regional. If seeds hold, the Huskies could face No. 2 Vanderbilt, which is coached by former UConn great Shea Ralph. This is the 23rd time UConn has earned a No. 1 seed and first since 2021.
UCLA (31-1) was just behind the Huskies as the second overall seed in the tournament. The Bruins have won 25 straight games in dominant fashion after its lone loss against Texas on a neutral court.
“The debate was pretty close the whole time between the two teams,” said NCAA selection committee chair Amanda Braun. “Went to a committee vote, watched a lot of UCLA and UConn — the vote went to UConn. The observable component, the way we watched UConn win throughout the year. UCLA did a lot of winning as well. The committee felt the observable component gave UConn the edge.”
UCLA reached the Final Four last year before losing to UConn. Cori Close’s team ran through the Big Ten and has an experienced group led by center Lauren Betts looking to win the school’s first NCAA championship.
The Bruins will try to win the first women’s national championship for the Big Ten Conference since 1999. The Bruins are one of 12 Big Ten teams in the field. That matches the record they set last season for most teams in the tournament. The SEC has 10, the ACC nine and Big 12 eight.
Other tops teams in UCLA’s region are No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Duke and No. 4 Minnesota.
The Longhorns (31-3) earned the third No. 1 seed after winning the SEC Tournament title. They beat South Carolina in two of the three meetings this season. Texas will play in Fort Worth Regional 3. Other top teams in Texas’ region are No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Louisville and No. 4 West Virginia.
The Gamecocks (31-3) are the No. 1 seed in the Sacramento Regional 4 and have been a No. 1 seed for six consecutive seasons. They will be joined by No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 TCU and No, 4 Oklahoma.
The College of Charleston won the Colonial Athletic Association to make the tournament field for the first time in school history. The Cougars are a 14-seed and are the lone first time entry in the field. Last season, there were six newcomers.
BYU, North Dakota State, Utah and Texas A&M were the first four teams left out of the field.
For the second consecutive year, teams in the women’s tournament will be financially compensated, in a similar fashion to the men’s field, for each round they play. “Units” are what the NCAA calls its tally of wins, automatic qualifiers and at-large bids that determine how much conferences are paid. A unit is money paid to conferences when one of its teams appears in the NCAA Tournament.
This year, the NCAA is giving teams that reach the championship game and the one that wins the title extra units. That extra compensation was added to the overall pool and doesn’t decrease the overall value of the units.
The top 16 seeds in the 68-team field will host first- and second-round games, with the regional rounds being played at two neutral sites for the fourth straight year. Fort Worth, Texas, will host half of the Sweet 16 and Sacramento, California, will host the other eight teams.
The Final Four will be played in Phoenix on April 3 and the championship game is two days later.
For the first time the NCAA revealed the 16 host schools a day early. It gave schools an extra day to sell tickets, broadcast partner ESPN a head start to move its equipment to the locations and the NCAA more time to get its marketing materials to sites.
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A Texas man facing charges for allegedly killing his pregnant wife has reportedly cut off his ankle monitor and fled abroad.
Lee Mongerson Gilley, 39, is accused of murdering his wife, Christa Bauer Gilley, and the couple’s unborn child in Houston in 2024, according to KPRC.
Gilley was set to appear in court Tuesday, but instead flew from Texas to Canada, and finally Italy, where he told authorities he was seeking asylum after being “wrongfully prosecuted” and is fearful of receiving the death penalty, his attorney told the outlet.
“I’m concerned that the prosecution will try to say that it’s evidence of consciousness of guilt that he’s running from it, but I think he’s just scared,” defense attorney Dick DeGuerin reportedly said.
NAVY RESERVIST ON ACTIVE DUTY ACCUSED OF MURDERING WIFE BELIEVED TO HAVE FLED TO HONG KONG
Lee Mongerson Gilley, 39, is accused of murdering his wife, Christa Bauer Gilley, and their unborn child in Houston in 2024, according to KPRC. (Christa Bauer Gilley/Facebook)
Gilley, whose murder trial was set to begin later this month, is reportedly in the custody of Italian authorities. His ankle monitor alerted authorities it had been tampered with on Friday, according to the outlet.
DeGuerin told the outlet that before Gilley can be returned to Texas, the state must certify to Italy that he is not eligible for the death penalty — which the prosecution is not seeking in his case.
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Gilley is accused of killing his wife, Christa, and their unborn baby by “applying pressure to [her] neck and upper back” on Oct. 7, 2024, according to charging documents obtained by People.
HUSBAND CHARGED IN PREGNANT PHYSICAL THERAPIST WIFE’S MURDER AFTER GIVING POLICE A DIFFERENT STORY
Defense attorney Ed McClees and his client, Lee Mongerson Gilley, appear in the 497th District Court at the Harris County Justice Center in Houston on Oct. 17, 2024. Gilley is charged with capital murder in the death of his wife, Christa Gilley. (Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Prosecutors reportedly allege Gilley initially claimed Christa, who was nine months pregnant, had overdosed and that he had tried to save her with CPR, but a medical examiner later pointed to evidence of strangulation and ruled her death a homicide.
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After he was arrested days later, Gilley allegedly admitted his wife was not a drug user or suicidal, and that the couple had been arguing before her death, KPRC reported.
In 2025, while out on bond, prosecutors reportedly allege Gilley and an unnamed woman, whom he had an affair with in 2023, devised a scheme to flee to Mexico and other countries, according to the outlet.
MISSING FATHER OF 3 MAY HAVE FAKED HIS OWN DEATH AND FLED TO ‘SOMEPLACE IN EUROPE’: OFFICIALS
Prosecutors allege Lee Mongerson Gilley killed his wife, Christa Bauer Gilley, who was nine months pregnant, in Houston in 2024. (Christa Bauer Gilley/Facebook)
“The Defendant also inquired as to whether she knew of a Mexican identity he could acquire to facilitate his departure from the country,” the document said.
Gilley also allegedly “provided a detailed plan” to remove his GPS monitor and perform a sham marriage to obtain a new identity, prosecutors reportedly said.
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Authorities are working to extradite Gilley back to the country, according to KPRC.
Gilley’s defense attorney and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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