USF’s women’s basketball team, which won three of its last four games to clinch a winning record at 16-15, has earned a berth in the Women’s NIT, the Bulls’ fifth straight year playing in the postseason. USF will open the tournament Friday in Fort Myers at Florida Gulf Coast, which went 21-8 in a transition year to Division I.

“I’m just pleased for our kids, for the season to continue, especially when we have all those kids coming back,” USF coach Jose Fernandez said Monday night. “There are a lot of teams across the country that would love to be playing right now. It puts another banner up in the rafters.”

The winner of Friday’s game will play Monday against Florida, which earned a first-round bye after being passed over for the NCAA Tournament.

It’s USF’s fourth trip to the WNIT in five years, along with an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2006. FGCU only played three opponents ranked in the RPI top 100 and lost all three, including games against Florida (78-52) and Florida State (93-53). No date has been set, though the game will be Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.

The American University women’s basketball team is heading to the post-season for the first time since the 1997-98 season and will find out its fate tonight. The Eagles, who finished the regular season 18-13, came up just short of their first-ever NCAA Tournament berth, falling to Bucknell in the Patriot League semifinal.

As the top seed in the conference, American was an automatic qualifier for the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT). The 48-team tournament will be announced late Monday night following the NCAA Selection Show. The field will be comprised of 31 automatic qualifiers, one from each conference in the country, and 17 at-large bids.

Badgers Host Saturday in WNIT Tournament Madison, Wis.

Wisconsin will appear in its fourth Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) when it meets Wednesday’s winner between American University and Villanova on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the UW Field House. The Badgers, who received a first round bye, are the one of five Big Ten teams to participate in the 48-team WNIT field. Michigan State was the automatic qualifier from the Big Ten Conference and was joined by Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and the Badgers.The Badgers won the WNIT in 2000 tournament, and were runner-up champions in 2007 and 1999. Wisconsin has bid to host all rounds of the WNIT at the UW Field House (capacity 10,600). The time and location of each game will be determined round-by-round. All games, including the semifinals and championship, will be hosted by participating schools at their home facilities.

Alie and lost to Wyoming, 72-56, in the finals of the WNIT Championship in front of a record 15,462 in Laramie, Wyo.

In 2000, the Badgers beat Florida to win the WNIT championship, and were the runners-up to Arkansas in 1999 and in Wyoming in 2007. UW has a 13-2 record in WNIT tournament participation including a 13-0 record in WNIT games at home.

With the WNIT tournament run, the Badgers concluded the 2006-07 season with a program record 23 wins, and the most games every played by a Badger team with 36. Wisconsin’s 17 home wins last season were also the most in program history.The Badger women have qualified for six NCAA basketball tournaments and four WNIT tournaments in the 33-year history of the program. The Badgers are 13-2 in the WNIT, and have a 2-6 record in NCAA play.

POSSIBLE WNIT DATES ON THE UW CAMPUS
(all games at the UW Field House)
Round 1- BYE
Round 2 – Saturday, March 22, 7 p.m.
Round 3 - Thursday, March 27
Quarter-Finals - Sunday, March 30, TBA
Semi-Finals - Wednesday, April 2, TBA
Finals - Saturday, April 5, 3 p.m.
WNIT TICKETS:
All seating will be general admission.
• 1st through 4th Rounds: Tickets are $8 & $4
• Semifinals April 2: Tickets are $9 & $5
• Finals April 5: Tickets are $9 & $5Go online at uwbadgers.com or contact the UW Ticket Office, 608-262-1440 or 1-800-GO-BADGERS.

Tournament Tickets http://www.uwbadgers.com/tickets/wbb/index_227.html
WNIT Tournament Bracket http://www.womensnit.com/

WNIT Teams
a = Automatic Qualifier
a-American (Patriot)
a-Arkansas Little Rock (Sun Belt)
a-Boise State (WAC)
a-Boston College (ACC)
a-Bowling Green (Mid-American)
a-Charlotte (Atlantic 10)
a-Colorado (Big 12)
a-Dartmouth (Ivy)
a-Evansville (Missouri Valley)
a-Florida Gulf Coast (Atlantic Sun)
a-Gonzaga (West Coast)
a-Idaho State (Big Sky)
a-Iona (Metro Atlantic)
a-James Madison (Colonial)
a-Kentucky (SEC)
a-Marquette (Big East)
a-Michigan State (Big Ten)
a-North Carolina A&T (MEAC)
a-Quinnipiac (Northeast)
a-Prairie View A&M (SWAC)
a-Radford (Big South)
a-South Dakota St. (Summit)
a-Southeast Missouri (Ohio Valley)
a-Southern Miss (C-USA)
a-TCU (Mountain West)
a-Texas State (Southland)
a-UC Davis (Big West)
a-Vermont (America East)
a-Western Carolina (Southern)
a-Wisconsin-Green Bay (Horizon)

At-Large Berths
Dayton
Drake
Creighton
Florida
Illinois
Indiana
Kansas
Michigan
Mississippi State
MTSU
NC State
South Carolina
South Florida
St. John’sTexas Tech
Villanova
Virginia Comm.
Wisconsin 

Please continue to check aueagles.com and womensnit.com as details become available late this evening and early Tuesday.