Sirens top Frost 4-1 in front of record crowd for women's pro hockey game in US

DETROIT (AP) — Paetyn Levis scored a tiebreaking goal late in the first period and Corinne Schroeder stopped 33 shots, lifting the New York Sirens to a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Frost on Sunday night.

The game drew 14,288 fans, setting an attendance record for a professional women’s hockey game in the United States.

The game was part of the Professional Women’s Hockey League's Takeover Tour.

Minnesota's Grace Zumwinkle scored 6:08 into the game and Nicole Hensley made 20 saves.

Jaime Bourbonnais pulled the Sirens into a 1-all tie midway through the first period and Sarah Fillier added an empty-net goal late in the game.

Sirens: With a two-goal lead after the first period, New York was able to play conservatively to keep the cushion.

Frost: While 34 shots is a high number, Minnesota did not have a lot of quality scoring chances.

During the first period, the PWHL announced more than 1 million fans have attended games since the league made its debut last season. Players from both teams gave fans in the stands pucks that commemorated the milestone.

Schroeder stopped 20 of 21 shots through two periods, setting the Sirens up for the victory.

New York plays at Toronto on Wednesday night. Minnesota hosts Montreal on March 26.

AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey

New York forward Elizabeth Giguère hits the ice while trying to keep the puck away from Minnesota defenseman Mellissa Channell-Watkins during the first period of a PWHL game between the New York Sirens and the Minnesota Frost, at Little Caesars Arena, in Detroit, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP)

Minnesota forward Grace Zumwinkle tosses a puck to a fan after it was announced that the game brought the total fan attendance to over one million during the first period of a PWHL game between the New York Sirens and the Minnesota Frost, at Little Caesars Arena, in Detroit, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP)

Minnesota defenseman Mellissa Channell-Watkins and New York forward Gabby Rosenthal battle for the puck during the first period of a PWHL game between the New York Sirens and the Minnesota Frost, at Little Caesars Arena, in Detroit, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP)

Fans reacts during the second period of a PWHL game between the New York Sirens and the Minnesota Frost, at Little Caesars Arena, in Detroit, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP)

A fan holds up a sign indicating a desire for Detroit to get a PWHL team during the second period of a PWHL game between the New York Sirens and the Minnesota Frost, at Little Caesars Arena, in Detroit, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP)

Minnesota defenseman Claire Thompson moves the puck up the ice during the second period of a PWHL game between the New York Sirens and the Minnesota Frost, at Little Caesars Arena, in Detroit, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP)

Minnesota forward Katy Knoll keeps the puck away from New York forward Noora Tulus during the second period of a PWHL game between the New York Sirens and the Minnesota Frost, at Little Caesars Arena, in Detroit, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP)

New York goaltender Corinne Schroeder stops a shot in front of Minnesota forward Brooke McQuigge during the second period of a PWHL game between the New York Sirens and the Minnesota Frost, at Little Caesars Arena, in Detroit, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP)

Minnesota defenseman Claire Thompson and New York defenseman Lauren Bernard battle for the puck during the second period of a PWHL game between the New York Sirens and the Minnesota Frost, at Little Caesars Arena, in Detroit, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP)

UCLA had one of the best seasons in school history and was rewarded with the top overall seed in the women's NCAA Tournament.

The Bruins were joined by South Carolina, Southern California and Texas as the No. 1 seeds that the NCAA revealed Sunday night.

It's the first time in school history that the Bruins are the top team in the tournament. They had two losses on the season, both of which came to the Trojans. One of the victories came over South Carolina. The Gamecocks' coach, Dawn Staley, felt her team should have gotten the top seed and with it the extra day of rest if they advance to the Final Four.

“I mean I’m a little bit surprised because we manufactured our schedule and put ourselves in position to be the No. 1 overall seed," she said. "Do the blind test and put our resume against any other team in the field, you’d pick us. It’s plain and simple."

Unlike last year, when the Gamecocks finished off an undefeated season with a national title, this team has three losses heading into March Madness.

“Two key factors between UCLA and South Carolina. One was the head-to-head matchup,” NCAA selection committee chair Derita Dawkins said. “The other was one of our criteria is competitive in losses and South Carolina suffered a 29-point loss to UConn. Those were the two key differences in those resumes.”

Staley’s team is looking to be the first team to repeat as champion since UConn won four straight from 2013-16. The Huskies, who are a two-seed, are looking to end that drought with star Paige Bueckers. They’ll have to go out west if they reach the Sweet 16 and a potential rematch with JuJu Watkins and the Trojans could be waiting in the Elite Eight.

The path won’t be easy for anyone: This year there’s more parity in the sport. This NCAA Tournament will be only the second one in the past 19 years to have no teams entering March Madness with zero or one loss. The other time was in 2022.

The Trojans and Bruins, newcomers in the Big Ten this season, will try to win the first national championship for the conference since 1999, when Purdue won the lone one. A record 12 teams from the Big Ten are in the field. The SEC has 10 and the ACC eight. The Big 12 has seven.

The Ivy League received three bids to the tournament for the first time in conference history. Last season, Columbia earned the second at-large bid in league history. The Lions are back again as well as Princeton. Both are 11 seeds and will be competing in play-in games. Harvard, which won the conference tournament, is a 10 seed.

Duke, TCU and N.C. State joined the Huskies on the 2-seed line. Notre Dame boasts wins over Texas, USC and UConn but slumped the last few weeks of the regular season and fell to a three-seed.

William & Mary is one of six teams set to make its first appearance in the women’s NCAA Tournament. The others are Arkansas State, Fairleigh Dickinson, George Mason, Grand Canyon and UC San Diego. Four teams are headed to the men’s tournament for the first time: High Point, Omaha, SIU Edwardsville and UC San Diego.

The Tribe (15-18) are the first sub-.500 team since Incarnate Word in 2022 to make the tournament.

Virginia Tech, James Madison, Saint Joseph's and Colorado were the first four teams left out of the field.

For the first time in NCAA history, there will be a financial incentive for women's teams. They will finally paid for playing games in the NCAA Tournament just like the men have for years.

So-called performance units, which represent revenue, will be given to women’s teams for each win they get. A team that reaches the Final Four could bring its conference roughly $1.26 million over the next three years in financial performance rewards.

This comes a year after the women's championship game that saw South Carolina beat Caitlin Clark and Iowa do better TV ratings then the men's title game.

The top 16 seeds in the 68-team field will host first- and second-round games, with the regional rounds being played at two neutral sites for the third straight year. Spokane, Washington, will host half of the Sweet 16 and Birmingham, Alabama, will host the other eight teams.

The Final Four will be played in Tampa, Florida, on April 4, and the championship game is two days later.

One team that didn't make the field was Stanford, which ended the Cardinal's 36-year streak of playing in the NCAA Tournament. It's the first time since 1987 that Stanford won't play in the NCAAs. While that streak is over, Tennessee continued its NCAA Tournament run of appearing every year in the field since the first NCAA Tournament in 1982. The Lady Vols are a five-seed.

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Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo (3) gathers a loose ball ahead of Duke's Vanessa de Jesus (2) and Jordan Wood (13) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C., Saturday, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)