SAN BRUNO, Calif. – A West Coast Conference record seven women’s basketball teams have earned postseason selections as the fields for the NCAA Tournament, Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) and Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) were announced Sunday evening.
Gonzaga will represent the West Coast Conference in the NCAA Tournament, while a conference-record three teams earned WBIT bids with LMU, Oregon State and Santa Clara each selected. Pepperdine, Portland and San Francisco were each selected to the WNIT, giving the conference seven total postseason bids.
"West Coast Conference women’s basketball teams earned a record seven postseason bids,” said West Coast Conference Commissioner Stu Jackson. “This success reflects the commitment by our institutions to invest in and elevate women’s basketball. I celebrate our coaches and student-athletes as they represent the West Coast Conference on the national postseason stage.”
The previous record was six total postseason bids, earned on five occasions (2025, 2022, 2019, 2016 and 2015). Over the past two seasons, the West Coast Conference has earned 13 postseason bids in women’s basketball, the most in any two-year stretch in conference history.
Gonzaga is a No. 12 seed in the Sacramento 2 Region and will face No. 5 seed Ole Miss Friday, March 20, at Williams Arena on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. The game will be played at 12:30 p.m. PT on ESPN2. Gonzaga is 1-2 all-time against Ole Miss. The two teams last played during the 2023 NCAA Tournament in a first-round matchup at Stanford with the Rebels defeating the Bulldogs, 71-48.
The Bulldogs earned the West Coast Conference’s automatic qualification after winning the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Basketball Championship Tuesday with a 76-66 victory over Oregon State in the title game. Gonzaga is making its eighth NCAA Tournament appearance in nine seasons and 16th overall. Most recently, in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, Gonzaga advanced to the Sweet 16 as a No. 4 seed, defeating UC Irvine and Utah before falling to No. 1 seed Texas.
Gonzaga is 24-9 overall, finishing second in the West Coast Conference with a 14-4 league mark. The Bulldogs were the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, defeating No. 3 seed Santa Clara before the win over Oregon State in the championship game. They rank second nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.390), sixth in in rebounding margin (+11.0), 26th in assists per game (17.0 apg), and 32nd in rebounds per game (40.8 rpg), field goal percentage (.454) and free throw percentage (.766). West Coast Conference Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year Lauren Whittaker led the conference in scoring (19.4 ppg), rebounding (10.2 rpg) and field goal percentage (.553) during the regular season. The National Freshman of the Year candidate has 17 double-doubles on the season which is two more than all other freshmen in the nation and ranks 14th overall.
The West Coast Conference earned a league-record three WBIT selections, marking the second consecutive year the conference has earned multiple selections. Among the 20 different conferences represented in the 32-team WBIT field, the West Coast Conference and the Big 12 Conference are the lone conferences to earn at least three bids.
Last season, Gonzaga and Portland each advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament. In the inaugural season of the WBIT in 2024, Santa Clara advanced to the second round of the event.
LMU will face No. 2 seed Stanford at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif., while Santa Clara will travel across the San Francisco Bay to face No. 3 seed California at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, Calif., and Oregon State will host No. 3 seed Wisconsin at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Ore. All three first-round games will be Thursday, March 19. Game times will be announced later. All preliminary-round games will be on ESPN+. Check WCCsports.com for game times once they are set.
LMU captured its second West Coast Conference regular season championship in program history, completing the league slate, 15-3. The Lions won their final nine games of the regular season to secure the conference championship. LMU dropped a 73-67 decision to Oregon State in the semifinals of the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Basketball Championship.
Aarika Hughes was voted the West Coast Conference Coach of the Year and Jess Lawson was honored as the Conference’s Newcomer of the Year. Lawson (15.1 ppg and 8.3 rpg) and Maya Hernandez (14.4 ppg and 5.5 rpg) were first-team all-conference selections.
LMU is making its first postseason appearance since 2019 when the Lions earned a bid to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). It is the Lions’ fourth all-time postseason appearance. This will be LMU’s first appearance in the WBIT.
LMU is 0-2 all-time against Stanford with the two previous meetings occurring in 1987 and 2006.
Santa Clara enters the WBIT 24-9 overall. The Broncos tied for third in the West Coast Conference regular season standings with a 13-5 league mark. They defeated San Francisco to advance to the semifinals of the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Basketball Championship, before falling to Gonzaga. Santa Clara ranks sixth nationally in three-point field goals per game (9.5) and sixth nationally in lowest turnovers per game (11.4), eighth in assist/turnover ratio (1.41), ninth in rebounds per game (42.5), 15th in blocks per game (5.3) and 16th in points per game (80.6). Ashley Hawkins, a First Team All-West Coast Conference selection, ranks eighth nationally in assists (207) and 10th in assists per game (6.3). Fellow first-team selection Maia Jones leads the team in scoring at 15.3 ppg.
This is Santa Clara’s second appearance in the WBIT. The Broncos last competed in the 2024 event, where they advanced to the second round.
Santa Clara is 2-6 all-time against California with the last meeting coming in Berkeley on Nov. 8, 2023.
Oregon State enters the WBIT with a 23-11 overall record. The Beavers finished tied for third in the West Coast Conference regular season with a 13-5 league mark and were the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament. OSU advanced to the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Basketball Championship, falling to Gonzaga, 76-66, in the title game. Kennedie Shuler was named the West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year. She was among the conference leaders in steals per game (2.0) and blocks per game (0.9) while averaging 12.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest. Shuler and teammate Jenna Villa (15.1 ppg and 4.2 rpg) were first-team all-conference selections.
Oregon State is making its third consecutive postseason appearance. The Beavers will be making their first appearance in the WBIT.
This will be the first meeting between Oregon State and Wisconsin. It will be the second Big Ten opponent to visit Gill Coliseum this season. On Nov. 14, OSU defeated Illinois, 64-59.
Pepperdine, Portland and San Francisco were selected to the 48-team WNIT field, as the West Coast Conference recorded three selections to the postseason tournament for the fourth time in five years. It is the fifth time in seven years and 18th time overall the conference has earned multiple selections to the event. It is the 10th time the conference has earned at least three bids. The league earned four bids on three occasions (2015, 2016, 2019). The full bracket, including matchups and game times will be announced on Monday, March 16.
Last season, Pacific, Saint Mary’s and Washington State each earned postseason bids. The Cougars advanced to the second round.
Pepperdine is 19-12 overall, finishing sixth in the conference with a 10-8 league mark. Under second-year head coach Katie Faulkner, Pepperdine improved its conference win total by seven this season and has already won 11 more games than it had the previous season. The 19 wins is the most since the Waves won 22 during the 2018-19 season. Sophomore Elli Guiney was a First Team All-West Coast Conference selection. She leads Pepperdine and ranks ninth in the conference in scoring with a 14.6 ppg average. The Waves are 16th in the nation in defensive rebounds per game (28.9) and 43rd in assists per game (16.0).
Pepperdine returns to the postseason for the first time since 2019 when the Waves advanced to the round of 16 of the WNIT.
Portland enters the postseason 18-14 overall with an 11-7 conference record. The Pilots were the No. 5 seed in the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Basketball Championship where they advanced to the quarterfinals. Portland ranks 11th nationally in blocks per game (5.6), 24th in turnovers forced per game (20.53) and 30th in both assists per game (16.8) and steals per game (11.0). Dyani Ananiev leads the Pilots in scoring at 11.0 ppg.
Portland will make its seventh consecutive postseason appearance and 14th all-time postseason appearance. The Pilots are making their fourth appearance in the WNIT and first since 2022.
San Francisco is 18-14 overall. The Dons finished the conference slate 9-9 for seventh place in the conference. USF ranks 51st nationally in assists per game (15.9) and 65th in the country in rebounds per game (39.7). Candy Edokpaigbe was a first-team all-conference selection. She ranks second in the West Coast Conference in scoring at 17.8 ppg.
NCAA Tournament (Times in PT)
No. 12 seed Gonzaga vs. No. 5 seed Ole Miss
Friday, March 20, in Minneapolis, Minn., 12:30 p.m. on ESPN2
WBIT (Game Times Announced On Monday, March 16)
LMU at No. 2 seed Stanford
Thursday, March 19, in Stanford, Calif. on ESPN+
Santa Clara at No. 3 seed California
Thursday, March 19, in Berkeley, Calif. on ESPN+
Oregon State vs. No. 3 seed Wisconsin
Thursday, March 19, in Corvallis, Ore. on ESPN+
WNIT (Bracket and Game Times Announced Monday, March 16)
Pepperdine
Portland
San Francisco