Former Gig Harbor Hoops Star Maxwell Headed To NCAA Tournament

SALT LAKE CITY, UT —Former Gig Harbor High School basketball star Brynna Maxwell is going to the 2022 NCAA Basketball Tournament after her Utah Utes received an at-large bid Sunday to the Big Dance.

The Utes (20-11) are a No. 7 seed in the Spokane Region and will face No. 10 Arkansas at 2:30 p.m. Pacific on Friday at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.

This will be Utah's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011. The team was just 5-16 last year.

"At the start of the year, I think everyone believed we could get to this place, and it's really cool that we're seeing it come to fruition," Maxwell said Sunday night after the team learned its tournament opponent and destination.

Maxwell is a junior guard and is averaging 10 points per game, the third-highest total on the team. She has hit a team-high 65 3-pointers.

Though she didn't earn all-conference honors this year, Maxwell was an All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection during her freshman and sophomore years.

The Utes beat Cal, Washington State and Oregon in the Pac-12 Tournament en route to Sunday's championship game, where they fell 73-48 to No. 2-ranked Stanford.

Maxwell talked Sunday about her emotions after hearing Utah's name called during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show.

"I don't think I've ever been this anxious in my entire life," Maxwell said. "It's not because we were scared that we wouldn't get selected, it's more anticipation about who we're going to play. It's almost all of our first time being a part of this, and it's just really cool that we get to experience this together.

"I think us being this excited (about being selected) is something I'm going to remember forever. I wouldn't want to do this with any other group of people. These are my best friends. There is excitement and anticipation of what is to come, and we get to experience this together, which is really awesome."