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Utah Utes, BYU Cougars earn spots in women's NCAA basketball tournament

Associated Press

Left: BYU's Paisley Harding (13) shoots over Gonzaga's Kayleigh Truong (11) during the second half of an NCAA women's championship college basketball game at the West Coast Conference tournament Tuesday, March 8, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)<br/><br/>Right: Utah guard Ines Vieira brings the ball up court against Washington State during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 women's tournament Thursday, March 3, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

By: Spencer Burt

Posted

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SALT LAKE CITY — Two women's college basketball teams from Utah will compete in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

The BYU Cougars were awarded the 6th seed in the "Wichita" region on "Selection Sunday." They will play Villanova, the 11th-ranked team in their region, on Saturday.

𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 pic.twitter.com/CMIzHyGCh9
— BYU Women's Hoops (@byuwbb) March 14, 2022

The Utah Utes were given #7 in the "Spokane" region and will take on #10 Arkansas on Friday.

A GREAT DAY TO BE A UTE! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/F0jhkBY24e
— Utah Women’s Basketball (@UTAHWBB) March 14, 2022

Both teams made it to their respective conference finals, but both fell short.

The Utes lost 48-73 in the Pac-12 tournament championship game to Stanford, the defending national champion. They finished the season with a 20-11 record.

The Cougars lost 57-71 to Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference championship. They had a 26-3 season.

None of the men's teams from the state will be part of March Madness this year.