The winner of the UCLA-UC Irvine game will face the winner of Thursday's Air Force vs. San Francisco matchup in the second round.
The Bruins (14-12) earned an automatic qualifying bid for the Pac-12 Conference and are playing in their seventh consecutive postseason and second WNIT. UCLA was a NCAA Tournament participant in five-straight tournaments from 2017-21 and the WNIT champion in 2015.
The Bruins finished the regular season with a No. 41 NET ranking. After battling through injuries most of the season, UCLA won three of its last four games, including an 18-point win at then-No. 12 Arizona to snap the Wildcats' 16-game home winning streak. UCLA advanced to the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament, where they lost by three points to No. 2 seed Oregon.
UCLA is led by a pair of all-conference team members - Charisma Osborne and IImar'I Thomas. Osborne, a two-time All-Pac-12 honoree, ranks third in the conference in scoring (16.4 average) and free throw percentage (86.3%) and fourth in three-point field goals made (54). Thomas ranks fifth in scoring (15.6 average) and is also fourth in field goal percentage (54.0%). Also averaging in double-figures for UCLA is Jaelynn Penn, who has a 10.7 points per game average. Penn won a WNIT title in 2018 as a freshman at Indiana University, recording a double-double in the championship game with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
UC Irvine (21-11) received an automatic qualifying bid for the Big West Conference after finishing second with a 14-4 conference record. The Anteaters also finished second in the conference tournament, losing in the championship game to Hawai'i, 59-48. UC Irvine is led by guard Kayla Williams, who is averaging 15.5 points and 4.2 assists per game. Williams was the 2021 Big West Freshman of the Year.