Women’s Basketball To Take On Gophers In WNIT
The Milwaukee women's basketball team will take on the University of Minnesota in the opening round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament, the selection committee announced late Monday night.
The Gophers (19-11) and Panthers (19-12) will play Wednesday at 7 p.m. from inside Williams Arena.
"We're very excited to be playing in the postseason," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "This was one of our preseason goals and we worked very hard this year to get to this point. This is a huge step for our program. It's an added bonus that Sierra (Ford-Washington) and Christina (Wakeman) will get to get to play in front of their families in somewhat of a homecoming, and we can't wait for Wednesday."
The Panthers earned the Horizon League's automatic bid after finishing as the top team in the conference not to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
This marks the third postseason trip for Milwaukee in program history and the first since its trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2006.
Milwaukee has had a remarkable turnaround this season. After finishing eighth of nine in the Horizon League with a 10-20 record last year and being tabbed ninth of 10 in the preseason poll, the Panthers bounced back with a 19-12 record and earned the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. Milwaukee advanced to Sunday's league tournament championship, before setting for a runner-up finish.
UWM also earned plenty of awards this season, including two big ones in the postseason. Rechlicz was named Horizon League Coach of the Year after the outstanding turnaround she guided her team to in her fourth year at the helm. Sophomore Steph Kostowicz also got in on the action, earning first team all-league honors.
Milwaukee finished as one of five teams from the deep Horizon League to make a postseason tournament this year, joining Green Bay (NCAA), Wright State (WNIT), Northern Kentucky (WBI) and Youngstown State (WBI).
Women Travel to Michigan for WNIT Opener
The Wright State women's basketball team will travel to Ann Arbor to face the Michigan Wolverines in the first round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament Wednesday at 7 pm.
The Raiders (24-10), who received an at-large berth to the WNIT, will be making their fifth postseason appearance in six years under head coach Mike Bradbury. WSU, who participated in the Women’s Basketball Invitational in 2011 and 2012 and made its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division I Tournament in 2014 against Kentucky, faced Toledo on the road last season in the WNIT.
Michigan (17-13) and Wright State, who will meet for the first time ever on Wednesday, have two common opponents this season in Detroit and Iowa. The Raiders split with Detroit during league play and lost to Iowa as part of the Lone Star Showcase in Cedar Park, Texas, in November. The Wolverines, meanwhile, defeated the Titans and split with the Hawkeyes during Big Ten play.
WSU senior guard Symone Denham played her freshman season at Michigan before transferring, appearing in one game.
The winner faces the Akron-Bucknell winner in the second round on a date to be determined between March 19-22.
Tags: Horizon League - Women's Basketball
