Seeded 15th, Rainbow Wahine face Baylor NCAA women’s tournament

The University of Hawaii women’s basketball team will face Baylor in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday in Waco, Texas.

Hawaii’s place in the 68-team bracket was revealed as the Rainbow Wahine arrived back on campus after making the trip back from Henderson, Nev. The Wahine (20-9) earned the Big West’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament with a 59-48 win over UC Irvine in the conference tournament final on Saturday at the Dollar Loan Center.

UH is the No. 15 seed in the Wichita Region with second-seeded Baylor (27-6 ) hosting first-and second-round games at the Ferrell Center in Waco.

“It was nerve-wracking, we were one of the last teams to get picked,” freshman guard Olivia Davies told on KHON2. “We were all sitting there like, “Who were we going to get, who were we going to get?”

A juggernaut of a program.

Since the 2003-2004 season, the Bears have made the tournament 18 consecutive years. In those 18 seasons, Baylor has won three national titles, made four final four appearances, 10 trips to the Elite 8, and played in 15 Sweet 16s.

“Just super exciting for the opportunity,” Big West player of the year Amy Atwell said.

UH will take an eight-game winning streak into its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2016, when the Wahine met UCLA at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.

Louisville is the top seed in the Wichita Region. The Cardinals were the most surprising of the top seeds, edging No. 2 seed Baylor after the Bears lost in the Big 12 title game.