Four Conference USA women’s basketball teams have received invitations to the NCAA Tournament. Regular season and C-USA Tournament champion Houston, which received the highest seed in league history with a No. 3 ranking, joins DePaul, Marquette and TCU in this year’s NCAA’s.

Houston (27-3) will be competing in its first NCAA Tournament since the 1991-92 season after winning the regular season Conference USA crown and tournament title. The Cougars are the No. 3 seed in the East Region and will face 14th-seeded UW-Green Bay (23-7) in Santa Barbara, Calif. on Saturday, March 20.

C-USA Coach of the Year Joe Curl has led Houston to its highest win total in school history with 27, while also tying the league mark for the most victories. In addition, the Cougars claimed their best record ever in C-USA play with a 13-1 conference mark, while earning the highest ranking in conference history with a No. 10 showing in this week's ESPN/USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll. The Cougars, who have won a school-record 12 consecutive games heading into the Big Dance, become the 11th different school to reach the NCAA Tournament in Conference USA’s first nine seasons.

DePaul will be making its second consecutive and ninth overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Demons are the No. 9 seed in the Midwest region and will take on eighth-seeded George Washington (22-7) in the opening round on Saturday in Tallahassee, Fla. With a 22-6 mark, DePaul has posted its ninth 20-plus win season under head coach Doug Bruno. If the Blue Demons advance to the second round, they will face either No. 1 Tennessee or 16th-seeded Colgate. Earlier in the season, DePaul nearly claimed an upset over the Volunteers, falling 96-89 in overtime on Dec. 17.

Marquette advances to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in school history, while also marking its first appearance since the 2000 tourney. The Golden Eagles earned the No. 9 seed in the Mideast region and will open against eighth-seeded Old Dominion (25-6) on Sunday in Durham, N.C. Marquette claimed its seventh 20-plus win season and fifth under head coach Terri Mitchell’s helm after posting a 21-9 mark. The Golden Eagles are also only one win away from tying the most victories in school history with 22.

TCU earned its fourth straight NCAA berth after posting a 24-6 overall record and finishing second in the C-USA standings with an 11-3 record. The Horned Frogs earned its highest seed ever in the NCAA Tournament and will take on 11th-seeded Temple (21-9) in the West Region on Saturday, in Philadelphia, Pa. The last three years, TCU has advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, becoming the first school in C-USA to claim this feat.

With four bids, Conference USA is surpassed only by the Big East (8), SEC (7), Big 12 (7) and Big Ten (6) in the total number of NCAA teams in this year’s field. The ACC also received four berths. The league has now earned a total of 34 NCAA appearances in its nine-year history.


2004 NCAA TOURNAMENT
FIRST ROUND
Saturday, March 20
NCAA East Region, The Thunderdome, Santa Barbara, Calif.
(3) Houston vs. (14) UW-Green Bay

Saturday, March 20
Midwest Region, Leon County Civic Center, Tallahassee, Fla.
(9) DePaul vs. (8) George Washington

Saturday, March 20
West Region, The Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pa.
(6) TCU vs. (11) Temple

Sunday, March 21
NCAA Midwest Region, Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, N.C.
(9) Marquette vs. (8) Old Dominion






--www.conferenceusa.com--