It took a few minutes Monday night for Creighton and Toledo players to figure out who they were playing and where they were going for the first round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament.
Players from both teams were cheering and jumping for joy when their schools names appeared on television screens during the selection show.
Bluejays senior guard Lauren Works didn't pay attention to the opponent or site after she saw Creighton's name appear.
"All I saw was our name," Works told the Omaha World-Herald, "and it was awesome."
Creighton and Toledo play Friday in Corvallis, Ore., as part of the Stockton (Calif.) Regional. The Bluejays are the No. 7 seed and Toledo is No. 10. The winner faces No. 2 Oregon State or No. 15 Long Beach State on Sunday for a berth in the Sweet 16 on March 25.
The Rockets (25-8) knew they were going to be in the tournament after winning the Mid-American Conference tournament Saturday. They just weren't sure what seed they would get and were pleasantly surprised with a 10.
"This will be a great matchup," Toledo coach Tricia Cullop told the Toledo Blade. "I love this seed. I really thought today in my office I had 11 through 13 marked off and I had who might be those seeds. I'm so pleased that it's a 10-seed. I think that is a huge compliment for the league and for Toledo and I'm excited for our program."
The No. 7 seed matches the highest for Creighton (23-7) in school history. This is the first trip to the NCAA tournament for the Bluejays since 2013, when they made it to the second round after winning their opener as a 10 seed.
Creighton's Jim Flanery and Cullop know each well, having coached against each other in the Missouri Valley Conference. Cullop was at Evansville from 2000-01 through 2007-08, when the Bluejays won 12 of the 15 meetings.
"One thing that is cool about that matchup, is that I coached against Jim Flanery the whole time I was in the Missouri Valley Conference," Cullop said. "I don't know his current team, but I do know his style. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him. He's a great coach and just a wonderful person and I'm looking forward to seeing him again."
Toledo won the MAC tournament for the first time since 2001. Winning four games in six days moved the Rockets' winning streak to eight games heading into Friday's matchup.
The two teams have a common opponent from the regular season in Dayton. Creighton edged the Flyers 56-53 in late November while Toledo won at Dayton 76-72 on Dec. 9.
"I know they can play," Flanery said, "because I know how good Dayton is."
