Eight teams from the Big 12 had their tickets punched to the women's NCAA Tournament on Monday.

And during ESPN's selection show, the conference's ninth-place team -- Colorado -- was on the practice floor preparing for the WNIT.

About five hours later, the Buffs learned that not only will the program be in the postseason for the first time in four years but that they had a first-round bye.

CU, which received an automatic bid to the WNIT as the highest remaining Big 12 finisher, will host the winner of Thursday's Gonzaga vs. UC Davis game in the second round next Monday at the Coors Events Center.

"I'm ready for a fresh start with this team," McConnell-Miller said. "And this group really wants to play someone other than our Big 12 opponents. We had some great wins in conference and we had our struggles. Our league is loaded with quality teams and quality coaches. I told our players that they're closer than they thought they were. They realize they're very close to getting the program back where we want it to be."

The Buffs (16-14) were oneof 16 teams to gain a first-round bye in the 48-team field. In 1999, CU defeated BYU and lost to Drake in the program's only other WNIT appearance.

Attendance is a huge factor in determining where games are played in later rounds. Wyoming, the defending WNIT champion, drew large crowds last March and defeated Wisconsin in the title game in front of over 15,000 fans at the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie.

"That's going to be the objective tomorrow is to try and generate some interest," McConnell-Miller said. "We really need the fans of Colorado to support this team. There aren't a lot of teams playing right now. This is an important time for our program."