Minnesota Women Seeded No. 8 in NCAA Tournament

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The Minnesota women's basketball team has secured a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six seasons.

The Gophers got an eighth seed and will open the tournament Friday at 4 p.m. CDT against ninth seed DePaul in South Bend, Indiana.

Minnesota is 23-9 for the program's most wins since 2005. The Gophers are in the Oklahoma City Region. A win would send them to the second round against the region's top seed Notre Dame, providing the Irish open with a win over Montana.

The Blue Demons are 26-7 after winning the Big East championship for the second straight season.

The last time Minnesota made the NCAA Tournament field was 2009. That team upset host Notre Dame in the first round before losing in the second round to Texas.