Green Bay earns No. 13 seed, will face Minnesota in NCAA Tournament

GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — The Green Bay women’s basketball team is headed back to the NCAA Tournament.

The Phoenix earned a No. 13 seed in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament and will face No. 4 seed Minnesota in the first round Friday at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.

The game is part of the Sacramento Regional. First- and second-round games will be played Friday and Sunday in Minneapolis. The winners advance to the second round Sunday.

Green Bay is making its third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and the 21st in program history. The Phoenix are seeking their first NCAA Tournament win since 2012.

Fifth-seeded Ole Miss and No. 12 seed Gonzaga will play in the other first-round game at Williams Arena. The winners of the two games will meet in the second round.

Green Bay coach Kayla Karius said seeing the team’s name appear on the bracket is always a special moment for the program.

“It was an exciting day,” Karius said. “Our girls are just thrilled to see their name pop up. No matter the opponent, no matter the place, we’re just thrilled to be in the big dance.”

The team originally planned to watch the selection show together at a public watch party Sunday night at The Bar on Holmgren Way. However, a powerful snowstorm forced those plans to be canceled.

Instead, community members helped bring players to campus so the team could still gather for the announcement. Volunteers with trucks picked up players from their apartments and drove them through the snow so they could watch the bracket reveal together at the Kress Center.

“I just think it’s like, here we go again, Green Bay community,” Karius said. “You just show up when we need you.”

The Minneapolis site could also bring strong fan support for the Phoenix, with the short drive from Green Bay and several players on the roster from Minnesota.

“I’m sure our fans are going to be happy,” Karius said. “We actually had a great contingency of Green Bay people down in Indy for the conference tournament, and this is actually closer.”

One of those Minnesota connections includes Phoenix guard Jenna Guyer, a native of Eagan, Minnesota, who will have the opportunity to play in front of a hometown crowd.

Karius is also familiar with Minnesota’s program. She previously worked with Gophers head coach Dawn Plitzuweit when the two were on the coaching staff together at South Dakota.

Minnesota enters as a Big Ten opponent known for its defense. Karius said the Gophers present a tough matchup.

“They give up the second-fewest points in the Big Ten,” Karius said. “They’re the total package. This is going to be a really tough matchup for us, no question.”

NCAA regionals will be held March 27-30 in Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, California. The Final Four is scheduled for April 3-5 in Phoenix.

All 67 games of the 2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament will be broadcast by ESPN networks and available on the ESPN app. Tickets for the Minneapolis games go on sale to the general public Monday morning.