Champaign, IL (CHAMBANA TODAY) – The Illinois Fighting Illini women’s basketball is headed back to the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament for the second consecutive season.

Illinois earned a No. 7 seed in the Fort Worth Regional and will face No. 10 seed Colorado Buffaloes women’s basketball in the first round Saturday in Nashville.

The seed is Illinois’ highest in the tournament since the program received a No. 6 seed in 2000.

Top-seeded UConn Huskies women’s basketball headlines the region, while Vanderbilt Commodores women’s basketball holds the No. 2 seed and will host the opening-round games in Nashville.

Illinois enters the tournament after a competitive run in the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament, where the Illini defeated Wisconsin Badgers women’s basketball and Michigan State Spartans women’s basketball before falling in a close quarterfinal matchup to Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball.

Under head coach Shauna Green, the program has continued its resurgence. Green led Illinois to the NCAA Tournament in her first season and guided the team to a Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament championship to close the 2023–24 season.

Last year, Illinois entered the tournament as an eight seed and earned a first-round win over Creighton Bluejays women’s basketball before falling to top-seeded Texas Longhorns women’s basketball.

That victory over Creighton marked Illinois’ first NCAA Tournament win since the 1999–2000 season.