Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament to feature fan-friendly entertainment

Tickets Still Available at Pac-12.com/tickets
Tournament to be held Thursday-Sunday, March 1-4

SEATTLE - In addition to featuring some of the nation’s top basketball teams and talent, this week’s Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament presented by New York Life at KeyArena will also include halftime and national anthem performances from Seattle’s leading family entertainment and musical acts, the Conference announced today.

The tournament takes place at KeyArena in Seattle this Thursday through Sunday, March 1-4. Tickets are still available at pac-12.com/tickets or the East Box Office at KeyArena.

Entertaining halftime lineup includes the Seattle FlyDogs and Volta Wheel, the world’s first pixel wheel that displays coordinated lights to music, the Eastside Dream Elite cheerleading squad, and dunk squads. Halftimes of the 11:30 a.m. games on Thursday and Friday feature interactive dance parties on the court and baby races.

As part of the celebration of the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament in Seattle this week, the 12 mascots of the Conference’s 12 member institutions will be at the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) on Friday, March 2 at 10 a.m.

Several talented local singers will make appearances during the tournament, including local collegiate basketball player Nani Garner (March 1), former Miss Seafair Rio Barber (March 2), 14-year-old Kathrina Redrico who has sung the anthem at Seattle Storm games (March 3) and Tobey Krippaehne, another local who has sung at local sporting events and loves dogs (March 1). Additionally, elementary school choirs from both Shorewood Elementary and Evergreen Heights Elementary will be performing national anthems on Mar. 2 and Mar. 4, respectively. The Pac-12 is proud to partner with these and several other local Seattle groups to provide the best possible experience for Pac-12 women’s basketball fans.

Also in attendance throughout the week will be mascots, cheerleaders, and bands from across the Pac-12 Conference.

The Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament will be played this week at KeyArena in Seattle for the sixth year in a row. Through 11 games over four days, fans will get to see four top-25 teams — No. 8 Oregon, No. 10 UCLA, No. 12 Oregon State and No. 16 Stanford — in action with the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line.

The 2017 Pac-12 Tournament also features the culmination of the nation’s most exciting women’s basketball storylines, highlighted by career milestones and record-breaking performances. Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu has already broken the career record for triple doubles as a sophomore; teammate Ruthy Hebard just set the NCAA record, making 33-consecutive shots; UCLA’s Jordin Cana broke the Pac-12’s all-time assist record. Those three players, as well as the Bruins’ Monique Billings, Oregon State’s Marie Gulich, Stanford’s Brittany McPhee and California’s Kristine Anigwe are among the candidates for national player of the year, as well as other national honors.

Tickets are still available at pac-12.com/tickets or at the East Box Office of KeyArena. More information about the tournament can be found at pac-12.com/womenstourney.

Entertainment highlights include (subject to change):

Thursday, March 2
Session 1
Game 1 (11:30 a.m. PT) - Nani Garner (national anthem); dance party (halftime)
Game 2 (2:00 p.m. PT) - Last Fan Standing (halftime)

Session 2
Game 3 (6:00 p.m. PT) - Tobey Krippaehne (national anthem); baby Races (halftime)
Game 4 (8:30 p.m. PT) - Peter Rabbit (halftime)

Friday, March 3
Session 3   
Game 5 (11:30 a.m. PT) - Rio Barber (national anthem); dance party (halftime)
Game 6 (2:30 p.m. PT) - Last Fan Standing (halftime)

Session 4
Game 7 (6 p.m. PT) - Shorewood Elementary (national anthem); Volta Wheel (halftime)
Game 8 (8:30 p.m. PT) - FlyDogs (halftime)

Saturday, March 4 (Semifinals)
Session 5
Game 9 (6 p.m. PT) - Kathrina Redrico (national anthem); Eastside Dream Elite (halftime)
Game 10 (8:30 p.m. PT) - Dunkers (halftime)

Sunday, March 5 (Championship)
Session 6   
Game 11 (6 p.m. PT) - Evergreen Heights Elementary Choir (national anthem); Grand Finale and Glassybaby Trophy Story (halftime)