Cinderella UMBC Says Harvard Women 'Laid The Groundwork' For No. 16 Seeds
BOSTON (CBS) – The University of Maryland Baltimore County made history Friday night. And Harvard was happy to welcome them to the club.
Sixteenth-seeded UMBC became the first team in men's tournament history to take down the No. 1 team in the bracket. But the Retrievers aren't the only basketball team to reach the achievement.
In 1988, the No. 16 Harvard women's basketball team took down No. 1 Stanford. The Crimson advanced with a shocking 71-67 win.
Welcome to the club @UMBCAthletics! #SixteenOverOne https://t.co/ayqlOvko9h
— Harvard Women's Basketball (@HarvardWBB) March 17, 2018
After UMBC's victory Friday night, the school's Twitter account replied to a tweet from Atlanta Dream point guard Layshia Clarendon, who pointed out that the Retrievers weren't the "first team ever" to beat the top seed.
"They laid the groundwork, it just took us 20 years to catch up," UMBC tweeted, referring to Harvard's upset.
.@HarvardWBB was the first, seriously. Don't ever forget that. They laid the groundwork, it just took us 20 years to catch up https://t.co/UPmd8yLzs9
— UMBC Athletics (@UMBCAthletics) March 17, 2018
Following their historic win, the Retrievers will take on No. 9 Kansas State in the second round.
Harvard's season, meanwhile, came to an end Friday night in the WNIT following a loss to Fordham.