Tourney to Tampa – NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Begins Friday on ESPN2

Anna Negron

March 20, 2019

ESPN’s exclusive coverage of the NCAA Division I Women’s Championship presented by Capital One begins Friday, March 22, with first round games on ESPN2. Tournament action continues through the month of March, culminating in the NCAA Women’s Final Four in Tampa, Fla. (April 5 & 7). Production teams will be located across the country, as the top-16 seeds host first and second rounds. Regional rounds will be played in Albany, N.Y., Portland, Ore., Greensboro, N.C., and Chicago, Ill.

All 63 games will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2, and available to stream via the ESPN App, with regionalized coverage for the first and second rounds on ESPN2. The regional semifinals and finals will air on ESPN and ESPN2.

Host Maria Taylor and analysts Andy Landers and Rebecca Lobo will provide studio updates through the first and second rounds, with Nell Fortner joining Landers and Taylor in studio for the regionals. The crew will travel to Tampa for the Final Four, with Adam Amin, Kara Lawson, Lobo and Holly Rowe returning to call the semis and championship game.

First and Second Round – Regionalized & Home Market Protection
Coverage Highlights
Commentators Highlights
espnW
SEC Network
Tournament Challenge
Schedule

First and Second Round – Regionalized & Home Market Protection

In the home markets of the competing teams, ESPN2 will televise the game of local interest. While constant updates from the other games will be provided in the home market, the networks will not switch to another game during live action, thereby establishing home market protection.
For the first and second rounds, multiple games (as many as four) will begin within one telecast window. During those windows, the coverage will showcase the best action for viewers in the majority of the nation (except in the home markets of the competing teams).
Select first- and second-round games will be aired in a full national telecast on ESPN or ESPN2, with supplemental coverage on ESPN App
ESPN3 will carry the games in full that are not being aired in a national window.

Coverage Highlights

Games to watch in the first round
- UCLA vs. Tennessee: Tennessee was on the bubble coming into the tournament, but they remain the only team to make every NCAA tournament.
- Belmont vs. South Carolina: Coming off an upset in the SEC Tournament, the Gamecocks face Belmont.
- Towson vs. UConn: Welcome to the NCAA Tournament, Towson. Your first opponent is UConn.
- North Carolina vs. California-Greensboro: Kristine Anigwe leads the league with 31 double-doubles and 16.3 rebounds per game; holds the record for most rebounds with 506, the most of any college basketball player
- Marquette vs. Rice: Led by BIG EAST Player of the Year, Natisha Hiedeman, Marquette won their conference regular season title outright for the first time in program history; face Rice, who has won 21 straight games
- Quinnipiac vs. South Dakota State: Quinnipiac enters the NCAA Tournament on a 21-game winning streak, while South Dakota State is currently on a 16-game win streak
Features that focus on star players, their stories & programs who make the tournament what it is
- Using home video provided by her father, ESPN will discuss Oregon guard Sabrina Ionescu’s connection with her twin brother Eddy, and her life-long dream of being a professional basketball player
- Ionescu has been called a program-changing recruit by her Head Coach, Kelly Graves. During the tournament, ESPN will cover this program’s rise under Graves leadership & the support of the Eugene community
- As a young girl, Mississippi State star center Teaira McCowan’s height was a burden to her self-esteem. Today, this remarkable young woman is soft-spoken, but anything but shy on or off the court.
- Baylor’s senior center, Kalani Brown is on a mission to reach a Final Four. Her mother played for Coach Kim Mulkey in college, ultimately leaving the team to get married. Now Kalani has a chance to bring the story full circle by finishing her career at Baylor with a national championship.
- The Fighting Irish are back, with a loaded starting five & ready to defend their title
- UConn looking for redemption – after losing in the national semifinals in heart-breaking fashion the past 2 years, the Huskies seek their 12th program title, fueled by expectations & the need for redemption.
Social play: From March 18 to April 10, fans can use #ncaaW or #WFinalFour to show their support of the women’s basketball tournament on Twitter. A custom and exclusive Women’s Basketball branded emoji will appear in the tweet

Commentators Highlights

From rookies to veterans, ESPN’s coverage is complemented by an array of basketball minds from the college to WNBA level, with both player and coaching experience.
No strangers to the tournament, A’ja Wilson and Blair Schaefer make their women’s tournament debut as analysts; Wilson will work with Lowell Galindo from College Station, while Schaefer calls matchups with Sam Gore in Syracuse
Adam Amin and Kara Lawson will call the first and seconds in Storrs, before heading to Albany with Lobo and Rowe for the Albany Regional
Beth Mowins and Nell Fortner head to Louisville, Ky., for the first and second rounds; Mowins will be joined by Debbie Antonelli for the regionals in Chicago
For the third year, Courtney Lyle will serve as an analyst alongside Tamika Catchings for the first and second round (Notre Dame, Ind.); she then heads to Chicago, where she will serve as a sideline reporter
Dave Pasch and LaChina Robinson call first- and second- round matchups in Eugene, Ore., before traveling north on the I-5 for the Portland Regionals
Roy Philpott and Brooke Weisbrod will be live from College Park for the first weekend of play; Weisbrod will then join Pasch & Robinson, serving as a sideline reporter in Portland
In her first season back with ESPN, Carolyn Peck will be joined by Pam Ward; the duo will call games originating from Waco before heading to Greensboro Regionals
Other first-and second- round teams include Eric Frede and Christy Thomaskutty (Charlotte), John Brickley and Christy Winters-Scott (Iowa City), Clay Matvick and Julianne Viani (Coral Gables), Paul Sunderland and Steffi Sorensen (Starkville), Melissa Lee and Mike Thibault (Raleigh), Elise Woodward and Dan Hughes (Stanford), Tiffany Greene and Mary Murphy (Corvallis), and Brenda VanLengen and Andraya Carter (Ames)
Allison Williams will join Ward and Peck during the Regionals in Greensboro, N.C.

espnW

espnW will have writers embedded at each of the regionals. Content includes:

Live analysis, game coverage, highlights and one-plays from each round
A nightly wrap each game day of the opening weekend, with the best storylines, social posts, photos and a player of the day
Expert picks for the tournament and, once the Sweet 16 is set, for each game
Charlie Creme and Mechelle Voepel, as well as ESPN.com staff writers, will continue to provide analysis of the top seeds, upsets and tournament’s biggest storylines

espnW longform reads: Liz Merrill goes behind-the-scenes with Oregon star Sabrina Ionescu, and Wayne Drehs gets unprecedented access to Notre Dame’s Muffet McGraw as the Fighting Irish look to defend their title.

SEC Network
SEC Now returns for postseason coverage of the seven men’s and seven women’s teams representing the Southeastern Conference in the NCAA Tournaments. Hosts Peter Burns, Alyssa Lang and Dari Nowkhah will be joined by a rotating cast of analysts throughout the two tourneys. SEC Network will also have live coverage should SEC squads advance to the Final Four.

2019 Tournament Challenge Game
The 22nd edition of ESPN’s Tournament Challenge game will once again allow fans to compete with friends, family and others by predicting the winner of each tournament game from the first round through the championship game. As with all ESPN Fantasy games, Tournament Challenge is free to play, and fans can submit up to 25 brackets and join up to 10 groups each for the men’s and women’s tournaments at ESPN.com/bracket or the ESPN Tournament Challenge App for iOS and Android.

Date	Time (ET)	Matchup/Commentators	Network
First Round
Fri, March 22	Noon	No. 16 Robert Morris vs. No. 1 Louisville Beth Mowins, Nell Fortner	ESPN2 and ESPN3
	1:45 p.m.	No. 13 Belmont vs. No. 4 South Carolina Eric Frede, Christy Thomaskutty	ESPN2 and ESPN3
	2 p.m.	No. 9 Kansas State vs. No. 8 Michigan Beth Mowins, Nell Fortner	ESPN2 and ESPN3
		No. 15 Mercer vs. No. 2 Iowa John Brickley, Christy Winters-Scott	ESPN2 and ESPN3
		No. 12 Rice vs. No. 5 Marquette Lowell Galindo, A’ja Wilson	ESPN2 and ESPN3
	4 p.m.	No. 12 Bucknell vs. No. 5 Florida State Eric Frede, Christy Thomaskutty	ESPN2 and ESPN3
		No.10 Drake vs. No. 7 Missouri John Brickley, Christy Winters-Scott	ESPN2 and ESPN3
		No. 13 Wright State vs. No. 4 Texas A&M Lowell Galindo, A’ja Wilson	ESPN2 and ESPN3
	4:30 p.m.	No. 10 Buffalo vs. No. 7 Rutgers Adam Amin, Kara Lawson	ESPN2 and ESPN3
	6:30 p.m.	No. 15 Towson vs. No. 2 UConn Adam Amin, Kara Lawson	ESPN2 and ESPN3
	7 p.m.	No. 12 UCF vs. No. 5 Arizona State Clay Matvick, Julianne Viani	ESPN2 and ESPN3
		No. 10 Indiana vs. No. 7 Texas Dave Pasch, LaChina Robinson	ESPN2 and ESPN3
		No. 9 Clemson vs. No. 8 South Dakota Paul Sunderland, Steffi Sorensen	ESPN2 and ESPN3
	9 p.m.	No. 13 Florida Gulf Coast vs. No. 4 Miami (Fla.) Clay Matvick, Julianne Viani	ESPN2 and ESPN3
		No. 15 Portland State vs. No. 2 Oregon Dave Pasch, LaChina Robinson	ESPN2 and ESPN3
		No. 16 Southern vs. No. 1 Mississippi State Paul Sunderland, Steffi Sorensen	ESPN2 and ESPN3
Sat, March 23	11 a.m.	No. 11 Quinnipiac vs. No. 6 South Dakota State Sam Gore, Blair Schaefer	ESPN2 and ESPN3
		No. 14 Radford vs. No. 3 Maryland Roy Philpott, Brooke Weisbrod	ESPN2 and ESPN3
		No. 16 Bethune-Cookman vs. No. 1 Notre Dame Courtney Lyle, Tamika Catchings	ESPN2 and ESPN3
		No. 11 Princeton vs. No. 6 Kentucky Melissa Lee, Mike Thibault	ESPN2 and ESPN3
	1 p.m.	No. 14 Fordham vs. No. 3 Syracuse Sam Gore, Blair Schaefer	ESPN2 and ESPN3
		No. 11 Tennessee vs. No. 6 UCLA Roy Philpott, Brooke Weisbrod	ESPN2 and ESPN3
		No. 9 Michigan State vs. No. 8 Central Michigan Courtney Lyle, Tamika Catchings	ESPN2 and ESPN3
		No. 14 Maine vs. No. 3 NC State Melissa Lee, Mike Thibault	ESPN2 and ESPN3
	3:30 p.m.	No. 9 North Carolina vs. No. 8 California Pam Ward, Carolyn Peck	ESPN2 and ESPN3
		No. 10 Auburn vs. No. 7 BYU Elise Woodward, Dan Hughes	ESPN2 and ESPN3
		No. 12 Little Rock vs. No. 5 Gonzaga Tiffany Greene, Mary Murphy	ESPN2 and ESPN3
		No. 11 Missouri State vs. No. 6 DePaul Brenda VanLengen, Andraya Carter	ESPN2 and ESPN3
	5:30 p.m.	No. 16 Abilene Christian vs. No. 1 Baylor Pam Ward, Carolyn Peck	ESPN2 and ESPN3
		No. 15 UC Davis vs. No. 2 Stanford Elise Woodward, Dan Hughes	ESPN2 and ESPN3
		No. 13 Boise State vs. No. 4 Oregon State Tiffany Greene, Mary Murphy	ESPN2 and ESPN3
		No. 14 New Mexico State vs. No. 3 Iowa State Brenda VanLengen, Andraya Carter	ESPN2 and ESPN3
Second Round
Sun, March 24	Noon	No. 8 Michigan vs. No. 1 Louisville Beth Mowins, Nell Fortner	ESPN2 / ESPN App
	2 p.m.	No. 5 Florida State vs. No. 4 South Carolina Eric Frede, Christy Thomaskutty	ESPN2 and ESPN3
		No. 5 Marquette vs. No. 4 Texas A&M Lowell Galindo, A’ja Wilson	ESPN2 and ESPN3
		No. 7 Missouri vs. No. 2 Iowa John Brickley, Christy Winters-Scott	ESPN2 and ESPN3
	7 p.m.	No. 10 Buffalo vs. No. 2 UConn Adam Amin, Kara Lawson	ESPN / ESPN App
		No. 5 Arizona State vs. No. 4 Miami (Fla.) Clay Matvick, Julianne Viani	ESPN2 / ESPN App
	9 p.m.	No. 9 Clemson vs. No. 1 Mississippi State Paul Sunderland, Steffi Sorensen	ESPN / ESPN App
		No. 10 Indiana vs. No. 2 Oregon Dave Pasch, LaChina Robinson	ESPN2 / ESPN App
Mon, March 25	7 p.m.	No. 9 Michigan State vs. No. 1 Notre Dame Courtney Lyle, Tamika CatchingsNo. 6 UCLA vs. No. 3 Maryland Roy Philpott, Brooke WeisbrodNo. 6 South Dakota State vs. No. 3 Syracuse Sam Gore, Blair Schaefer No. 6 No. 3 Kentucky vs. NC State Melissa Lee, Mike Thibault	ESPN / ESPN App
	9 p.m.	No. 11 Missouri State vs. No. 3 Iowa State Brenda VanLengen, Andraya CarterNo. 5 Gonzaga vs. No. 4 Oregon State Tiffany Greene, Mary MurphyNo. 8 California vs. No. 1 Baylor Pam Ward, Carolyn Peck	ESPN / ESPN App
	11 p.m.	No. 7 BYU vs. No. 2 Stanford Elise Woodward, Dan Hughes	ESPN2 / ESPN App
Regional Semifinals
Fri, March 29	7 p.m.	Albany Regional Semifinal #1 No. 6 UCLA vs. No. 2 UConn Adam Amin, Kara Lawson/Rebecca Lobo, Holly Rowe	ESPN / ESPN App
	9 p.m.	Albany Regional Semifinal #2 No. 4 Oregon State vs. No. 1 Louisville Adam Amin, Kara Lawson/Rebecca Lobo, Holly Rowe	ESPN or ESPN2 / ESPN App
		Portland Regional Semifinal #1 No. 5 Arizona State vs. No. 1 Mississippi State Dave Pasch, LaChina Robinson, Brooke Weisbrod	ESPN or ESPN2 / ESPN App
	11 p.m.	Portland Regional Semifinal #2 No. 6 South Dakota State vs. No. 2 Oregon Dave Pasch, LaChina Robinson, Brooke Weisbrod	ESPN2 / ESPN App
Sat, March 30	11:30 a.m.	Greensboro Regional Semifinal #1 No. 3 NC State vs. No. 2 Iowa Pam Ward, Carolyn Peck, Allison Williams	ESPN / ESPN App
	1:30 p.m.	Greensboro Regional Semifinal #2 No. 4 South Carolina vs. No. 1 Baylor Pam Ward, Carolyn Peck, Allison Williams	ESPN / ESPN App
	4 p.m.	Chicago Regional Semifinal #1 No. 4 Texas A&M vs. No. 1 Notre Dame Beth Mowins, Debbie Antonelli, Courtney Lyle	ESPN2 / ESPN App
	6 p.m.	Chicago Regional Semifinal #2 No. 11 Missouri State vs. No. 2 Stanford Beth Mowins, Debbie Antonelli, Courtney Lyle	ESPN2 / ESPN App
Regional Finals
Sun, March 31	Noon	Albany Regional Final Adam Amin, Kara Lawson/Rebecca Lobo, Holly Rowe	ESPN / ESPN App
	2 p.m.	Portland Regional Final Dave Pasch, LaChina Robinson, Brooke Weisbrod	ESPN / ESPN App
Mon, April 1	7 p.m.	Greensboro Regional Final Pam Ward, Carolyn Peck, Allison Williams	ESPN2 / ESPN App
	9 p.m.	Chicago Regional Final Beth Mowins, Debbie Antonelli, Courtney Lyle	ESPN2 / ESPN App
Women’s Final Four
Fri, April 5	7 p.m.	Semifinal #1 Tampa, Fla. Adam Amin, Kara Lawson/Rebecca Lobo, Holly Rowe	ESPN2 / ESPN App
	9 p.m.	Semifinal #2 Tampa, Fla. Adam Amin, Kara Lawson/Rebecca Lobo, Holly Rowe	ESPN2 / ESPN App
Sun, April 7	6 p.m.	Championship Game Tampa, Fla. Adam Amin, Kara Lawson/Rebecca Lobo, Holly Rowe	ESPN / ESPN App

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