It’s the largest cash prize in the history of the women’s college basketball tournament.
The women’s college basketball tournament is one of the most exciting sporting events of the year, when countless fans fill out their brackets – hoping to predict upsets, follow their alma maters and come out on top.
Emily Syverud was one of those fans. The big difference – she won the largest cash prize in the history of the tournament, as she claimed the $150,000 prize courtesy of DICK’S by coming in first place in the JWS X DICK’s Sporting Goods Bracket Challenge.
Knowing the heartache or euphoria that brackets bring, Emily was on the edge of her seat until the final horn sounded, and South Carolina cut down the nets after downing UConn. She said she was shocked when realized she had won.
“It truly feels unbelievable,” she said. “To have a grand prize this big for the women’s tournament is so amazing and brings such an awesome spotlight to the women’s game. It still feels too good to be true!"
Emily, a medical student at the University of Minnesota who hails from St. Paul, plans to use the winnings to help pay off her medical school student loans, donate to Twin Cities nonprofits like Keystone Community Services and treat her fiancé and herself to a first-class flight for their upcoming honeymoon.
Emily didn’t just get lucky. She followed the women’s college basketball season via Just Women’s Sports and filled out her bracket based on the insight she picked up along the way.
“I knew that some powerhouses, like South Carolina and Stanford, would probably go far, and I also felt like I had some insider knowledge about which teams could create their own Cinderella story,” said Emily. “I also had to root for some of my favorites, like the University of Iowa, where my dad went to college.”
But what would the madness of March be without a little heartburn along the way? Even our big winner went through some moments that were hard to predict, like when No. 5 seed Oregon was upset by No. 12 seed Belmont in a double-overtime thriller.
“The Oregon versus Belmont game totally caught me by surprise since I had Oregon making it to the Sweet 16,” she said.
In one half of the draw, Emily nailed every result – picking Princeton (11) to beat Kentucky (6) and FGCU (12) over Va. Tech (5).
Want to see how Emily had all the right moves? Click here to read more and see her bracket!
We also presented $250 DICK’S gift cards to the 2-11 finishers.