STORRS, Conn. – The second-seeded and fifth-ranked UConn women's basketball team (25-5) begins NCAA Tournament play against No. 12-seed Mercer (23-6) in the First Round on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Gampel Pavilion. The game will air on ABC and the UConn Sports Network.

UConn enters the NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed for the fifth time in program history. The Huskies are 16-3 (.842) all-time as a No. 2 seed. This is UConn's 33rd overall and straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

UConn is 125-21 (.856) all-time in the NCAA Tournament, which is the winningest record in the sport. The Huskies are 28-2 (.933) all-time in the First Round. UConn has won 27 straight First Round games.

UConn has advanced to a record 13-straight NCAA Final Fours. The Huskies lead the nation with 11 National Championships.

UConn beat Villanova, 70-40, in the BIG EAST Tournament championship game on March 7. Redshirt senior Evina Westbrook led UConn with 13 points while sophomore Aaliyah Edwards added 12 and senior Olivia Nelson-Ododa had 11. The Huskies scored 38 points in the paint and had 28 bench points. Senior Christyn Williams was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player while Westbrook and Edwards were named to the All-Tournament Team.

Senior Christyn Williams is a finalist for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award. Fans can vote once per day for Williams HERE.

This is the first-ever meeting between UConn and Mercer. UConn is 4-0 all-time vs. SoCon teams.

Mercer won the Southern Conference Tournament to earn the automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament. The Bears beat Furman, 73-54, in the championship game. This season, Amoria Neal-Tysor leads the Bears with 17.0 points per game. Head coach Susie Gardner is in her 12th season at Mercer.

The winner of Saturday's game will face No. 7-seed UCF (25-3) or No. 10-seed Florida (21-10) on Monday in the Second Round. Time and TV designation is to be determined.