The Big Red women's basketball team wasn't kept in suspense for very long in finding out who its first-round opponent would be in the NCAA tournament.

Cornell flashed on the screen as the very first game announced on ESPN March 17 during the women's basketball selection show. Cornell, seeded No. 16, will play No. 1 seed University of Connecticut (UConn) in the Greensboro bracket in Bridgeport, Conn., March 23 at 7 p.m. The UConn Huskies are currently ranked No. 1 in the country.

The cheers that erupted from Moakley house, packed with players, coaches, friends and even some members of the men's basketball team, were confused but quickly turned jubilant, as many of the spectators were caught off guard at the quick announcement.

Head coach Dayna Smith said she hopes with the close proximity of the game, that Cornell can draw a decent crowd to cheer them on against the challenge of UConn.

"They're the No. 1 team in the country," Smith said. "We're not going to go in being naïve, because they're the best in the land. But I like how our kids aren't afraid, and we're going to prepare as though it's a game we can win. We're going to play as hard as we can to represent our school and the Ivy League in the best way we can."

For the first time in program history, the Big Red women won the right to play in the NCAA tournament after winning a mini-playoff with Harvard and Dartmouth March 14 and 16. With each team finishing the season tied 11-3 in conference play, the three teams competed to determine who would represent the Ivy League in the Big Dance.

After receiving a bye to play in the playoff finals, March 16, Cornell beat Dartmouth, 64-47, (after Dartmouth beat Harvard) on the neutral court of Levien gymnasium at Columbia University. Cornell finished the season 20-8 overall, setting a record for most wins in a season as well as most conference wins in a season.

The men's basketball team, with a perfect 14-0 conference record, is seeded No. 14 in the South region of their NCAA tournament. They will face No. 3 seed Stanford University in Anaheim, Calif., on March 20 at 5 p.m. ET.