Auburn head women’s basketball coach Johnnie Harris is no stranger to the big dance.

In each of her two previous coaching stints as Texas and Mississippi State, Harris found herself on the sidelines well into the month of March, helping the Longhorns and Bulldogs in the NCAA Tournament.

The difference? Harris was just an assistant coach then.

Because of that difference, as Auburn continually inched towards an NCAA Tournament berth, Harris knew hearing the Tigers’ named called on Selection Sunday would hit different.

“It would be my first as a head coach. Just really special,” Harris said March 1 when asked what a tournament bid would mean. “It’s been five years for this program and this is a program that should be in the tournament.”

And as of Sunday night, the Tigers are back in the tournament.

Auburn drew a 11-seed and will see Arizona in the play-in round of the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers learned during ESPN’s Selection Sunday broadcast.

Auburn and Arizona will meet in Storrs, Conn. as part of the Portland 3 Region.

“When I came here, my goal was to build a program — not just a team that gets to the tournament and maybe next year not, but a program that’s a top-25 program. I feel like we’re on our way to do that,” Harris said March 1. “It’s not easy and it doesn’t come just like that. You have to build it. You have to instill a system. You have to build your culture.

“And that has taken a little time but I think we’re getting there. And that’s the goal. The goal is to get in the tournament so it’ll be really special we’re able to do that this year.”

Mission accomplished.