UK women No. 2 seed in NCAA tourney

The Kentucky women's basketball team has earned its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament bid, landing a No. 2 seed in the Bridgeport Regional. The Wildcats will play No. 15 Navy in the first round on Sunday at Carnesecca Arena in Queens, N.Y.

The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU at 12:05 p.m. ET.

Kentucky (27-5) was also a No. 2 seed in 1982 and 2012. The other matchup in Queens features No. 7 seed Dayton (27-2) versus No. 10 seed St. John's (18-12). The No. 1 seed in the region is perennial power UConn (29-4).

“We’re excited to be in the tournament again, and to get a two seed for the second year in a row shows you that the team has accomplished a lot over the season and they are considered one of the top eight teams in the country and there’s a bunch of teams playing,” UK Hoops Coach Matthew Mitchell said in a statement released by the school. “It’s really, really good to be back in the tournament and we are excited to get started and see what we can do with the draw we received.”

UK is 11-9 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including 7-3 under Mitchell. The best finishes came in 2012, 2010 and 1982 when the Wildcats fell one win shy of the Final Four. Last season the Cats advanced to the Elite Eight with wins over McNeese State, Green Bay and Gonzaga before falling to UConn in the regional finals.

Navy (21-11) claimed the Patriot League Tournament championship with a 72-53 win over Holy Cross. It marked the Midshipmen’s third straight tournament title. Co-champions of the regular season, Navy rides a three-game winning streak into the tourney.

Kentucky has a connection with Navy as former Wildcat Jenerrie Everette Harris (2001-04) is in her fourth season as an assistant coach. UK also has a connection with the host site of Queens as two Wildcats are native New Yorkers. Redshirt-sophomore point guard Jennifer O’Neill hails from the Bronx, while sophomore forward Jelleah Sidney is from Queens Village.

It marks the first meeting against Navy in school history.

Kentucky was one of seven Southeastern Conference teams to be awarded a bid to the NCAA Tournament on Monday evening. Texas A&M earned an automatic bid to the tournament after winning the conference tournament, and is a No. 3 seed in the Norfolk Regional. Tennessee (2 seed), Georgia, South Carolina (4 seeds), LSU (6 seed) and Vanderbilt (8 seed) also made the field.

Earning No. 1 seeds were Baylor (32-1); Notre Dame (31-1); Stanford (31-2) and UConn.