UConn women to host NCAA early rounds in 2013

UConn's Gampel Pavilion has been chosen as one of the 16 sites that will host the first and second rounds of the 2013 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.

It will be the 18th time UConn has hosted the tournament.

The Huskies are 30-2 in NCAA tournament games played on campus.

Gampel is not hosting the tournament this season. Instead, first- and second-round games will be hosted by Fairfield University and played at the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport.

That arena also played host to the first two rounds of the tournament in 2004 and 2008 and in 2006 was the site for the NCAA Women's East Region championship.

Other schools chosen to host the first and second rounds are Baylor, Colorado, Delaware, Duke, Gonzaga, Iowa, Louisville, LSU, Maryland, Ohio State, Stanford, St. John's, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.

Seven of the top 10 teams in the poll will be hosts next year, including the 10th-ranked Blue Hens, who are hosting for the first time.

St. John's is also making its first appearance as a host while it will be Tennessee's 26th time.

"Having this geographic blend of sites is important to the committee as we continue to grow the game of women's basketball," said Greg Christopher, athletic director at Bowling Green and hair of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee."

The four regional sites are Norfolk, Va.; Oklahoma City; Spokane, Wash.; and Trenton, N.J..

The Final Four will be played in New Orleans.

- The Associated Press