NCAA Tournament Bracket

March 17, 2008 PHOTO GALLERY

Auburn, Ala. - The Auburn women's basketball team received good news on Monday night as they were awarded a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The No. 11-seeded Tigers (20-11) will face No. 6-seeded George Washington (25-6) in the first round on March 22 in Palo Alto, Calif. The game will be televised at 1 p.m. CT and will air on ESPN2 and the ESPN Family of Networks.

The trip to the "Big Dance" is Auburn's first since 2004 and 17th overall. Auburn lost in the second round of the 2004 tournament to eventual national champion Connecticut in Bridgeport, Conn.

The winner of the Auburn versus George Washington game will meet either No. 3-seeded California (26-6) or No. 14-seeded San Diego (19-12) in the second round on Monday.

"That was just awesome," head coach Nell Fortner said minutes after seeing Auburn flash on the TV screen. "The best part about that was watching the team's reaction. I will never forget that. To be a part of a group of kids making it to the NCAA Tournament for this first time and seeing their reaction, it was incredible. I am proud of the effort from this team and we are looking forward to playing."

This will mark Fortner's first trip to the NCAA Tournament since her arrival to the Plains on April 22, 2004, but her ninth appearance in her collegiate coaching career (just second as a head coach).

The Tigers have accumulated an overall record of 28-16 in 16 tournament appearances. During this time, Auburn has made it to three Final Fours, six Elite Eights and 10 Sweet Sixteens. Six Auburn players have been named to the All-Final Four team, three were named the Regional MVP and 16 have been named to the All-Region team.

"Words just can't describe how I am feeling, I am just really excited," junior guard/forward DeWanna Bonner said. "We have been working so hard this season and we have overcome a lot of obstacles. I am glad that our team is going to get to experience the NCAA Tournament."

"We worked very hard this season and I thought that we deserved to be in," junior guard Sherell Hobbs said. "I didn't really realize it when our named popped up, but then everyone started screaming and jumping up and down and I got so excited. I haven't been this excited in a very long time."

No. 16 George Washington earned its sixth straight NCAA Tournament bid. The Colonials advanced to the Sweet Sixteen a year ago and is 12-2 overall in first round tournament games. The Colonials are 25-6 on the season and won a share of the regular season Atlantic-10 title, but lost in the semifinals of the conference tournament.

"We played George Washington once this year at home," Fortner said. "We lost by two on a last second three-pointer. They are a very good team. They have strong senior guard play and a big post presence inside."

George Washington is 2-0 all-time vs. Auburn with both victories coming in the last two seasons. The Tigers opened 2008 by hosting GW on Jan. 3 and redshirt junior Lisa Steele hit a game-winning three-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining to give the No. 20 Colonials a 68-66 victory over No. 18 Auburn.

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