Thursday, March 15Buffs get first-round date with Siena
Associated Press
BOULDER, Colo. – Reaction was mixed Sunday with the announcement of Colorado's seeding and opening-round opponent for the upcoming NCAA women's tournament. The Buffaloes (No. 21 ESPN/USA Today, No. 20 AP) received a No. 6 seed and a first-round date on Saturday with 11th seed Siena (24-5). The subregional played at the Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tenn., also includes Vanderbilt (21-9) vs. Idaho State (25-4). "I was disappointed in our seed, that we weren't in the top 20," guard Mandy Nightingale said. "So again we have to prove people wrong because I think we are better than what everybody else thinks." "I don't really care," said forward Jenny Roulier. "I wanted to get in and play." Colorado (21-8) ends a four-year hiatus from the tournament with a first-ever meeting with Siena. The Buffaloes defeated Marshall and Stephen F. Austin before falling to Tennessee in 1997, their last trip to the tournament. "This a reality check of where we should be," Colorado coach Ceal Barry said. "The expectation level is that we get an NCAA bid, but that we also progress very far into the tournament." Colorado State, winner of the 2001 Mountain West Conference tournament, and Denver also got invitations. CSU (21-8) faces Maryland (17-11) in the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn., and Denver (24-6) plays Virginia Tech (21-8) in the United Spirit Arena in Lubbock, Texas. It is Denver's first trip to the tournament as a Division I member. The Rams will be making their third NCAA appearance in four seasons. "It's outstanding that there are three teams from the state of Colorado in the tournament, which says a lot about the quality of girls basketball in the state given that all three of us have a lot of Colorado players," Denver head coach Pam Tanner said.
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