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The Big West champion UC San Diego Tritons are dancing once again, set to two-step with No. 3 seed TCU (29-5) on Friday in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Tritons (24-8) enter the bracket as the No. 14 seed and take on the host Horned Frogs at 11 a.m. CT/9 a.m. PT from Schollmaier Arena. The victor will advance to face the winner of the contest between No. 6 seed Washington and No. 11 seed South Dakota State on Sunday as part of the Sacramento 4 Region.
Both TCU and UCSD will be making consecutive appearances in the brackets. For the Tritons, the feat comes in their first two years of eligibility after a four-year reclassification period to Division I. For the Horned Frogs, back-to-back berths are a first since 2007.
UCSD earned its place in the bracket in back-to-back fashion after claiming The Big West’s automatic berth in the field, coming from behind to take down fourth-seeded Hawai’i yesterday in Henderson, Nev., 60-48. The Tritons finished the regular season as co-champions of the league with a 17-3 mark in Big West action and enter the national postseason riding a six-game winning streak.
The Tritons lead The Big West in field goal percentage (42.7) and assist to turnover ratio (1.11) with guard Dymonique Maxie providing a conference high 4.5 assists per game. Senior Erin Condron connects at a 53.6 percent clip to pace the league and stand in 35 nationally. Big West Best Defensive Player and Championship Most Valuable Player Makayla Rose is a ball hawk on the floor averaging 3.19 steals per game, 13th in NCAA Division I.
Meanwhile, TCU counters with a 33.7 field goal percentage defense figure, second in the country, while holding teams to 56.3 points per game. Graduate transfer and three-time All-American Olivia Miles leads the team with averages of 19.6 points on .487 shooting and 6.4 assists per game.
The Horned Frogs enter the fray as an at-large selection after claiming the Big 12’s regular season crown, but fell in their bid for the two-trophy season, falling to West Virginia 62-53 in last Sunday’s tournament finale. The Horned Frogs were ranked 14th nationally in the last iteration of the AP poll, released on March 8.
Saturday will be the first all-time meeting between the Tritons and Horned Frogs.
TCU has won an NCAA-leading 42 consecutive home games. The Horned Frogs are undefeated at 10-0 in all postseason contests held inside Schollmaier Arena.
While the Tritons are making just a second Division I appearance, this marks a 20th all-time NCAA postseason appearance spanning Divisions I, II and III and an eighth time to dance under the direction of head coach Heidi VanDerveer.