For the second time in the last three seasons, the UCF women’s basketball team has earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Head Coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson and the Knights return to the tournament as the 10 seed in the Alamo Region.

UCF (16-4) will meet seventh seed Northwestern (15-8) on Monday at 4 p.m. ET. The winner of the first round will advance to meet the winner of Louisville (23-3) and Marist (18-3) in the second round.

This year’s selection marks UCF’s sixth NCAA Tournament appearance since joining the Division I ranks in 1984–85. Each of UCF’s first four appearances had been via an automatic berth, winning the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament twice (1996, 1999) and capturing a pair of the Conference USA Tournament titles (2009, 2011). The Knights earned the first at-large bid in program history for the 2019 tournament.

At 10, it is the highest seed UCF has ever had at the NCAA Tournament, previously being seeded as high as 12th in 2019. Watch the moment the Knights found out they made the tournament:

Monday will be the first meeting between UCF and Northwestern in women’s basketball. The Knights are looking to secure their first win in the tournament in program history.

Of the 64 teams in the tournament, UCF is one of 27 that achieved a 100 percent graduation rate according to The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports (TIDES)’s Keeping Score When It Counts report, which is published by Richard Lapchick, TIDES director and chair of UCF’s DeVos Sport Business Management Program.

First Round Watch Party

UCF Athletics will hold a watch party Monday afternoon for the Knights’ first-round game of the 2021 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship. UCF students, faculty, staff and all of Knight Nation are invited to Addition Financial Arena to watch the game on the center-hung video board. Doors will open at 3:30 p.m.

The event is free of charge. Parking is available free of charge in Garage F behind the arena.

There will be no concessions available on site. Fans may bring their own food and non-alcoholic beverages into the arena, and Knight Nation is encouraged to visit nearby Knights Plaza vendors.

Per the university’s COVID policy:
  • Face coverings are required to be worn at all times by attendees other than while actively eating or drinking (but the person should be stationary and also maintain physical distance), or for children under age 2 who are unable to comply with mask wearing, for persons of any age who are developmentally unable to wear a mask.
  • Attendees are expected to maintain 6 feet of physical distancing to the greatest extent possible.
  • Capacity will be limited to 25 percent. All seating is general admission and groups of attendees are expected to social distance.