Gonzaga women accept invitation to WBIT, Washington State selected to WNIT
If there’s a consolation prize in college basketball, then the Gonzaga women received it Sunday.
The Bulldogs were selected to the 32-team Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament which begins Thursday. No. 4 seed Gonzaga (22-10) entertains University of Texas San Antonio Roadrunners (26-4).
WBIT officials will release game times Monday morning.
Portland (29-4), which shared the West Coast Conference regular-season title with Gonzaga, was selected and will travel to No. 2 Stanford (16-14).
UTSA captured the American Athletic Conference championship, going 17-1. But UTSA lost in the first round of the conference tournament to ninth-seeded Rice, 62-58, which also handed the Roadrunners their lone conference loss.
Gonzaga and Rice faced off Nov. 21 at McCarthey Athletic Center. The Zags pulled out a 72-69 win.
UTSA and Gonzaga have never played.
The Roadrunners and Zags share one other opponent. UTSA lost Dec. 16 at Stanford 62-57.
Gonzaga was handled mightily in its second game of the season at Stanford, 89-58.
It’s the second straight year the Roadrunners are playing in the postseason and fourth overall. UTSA’s overall and conference records are season bests.
That all told, the Bulldogs aren’t the same team as they were in early November.
And though the Zags miss out on the NCAA Tournament, departing players Yvonne Ejim, Maud Huijbens, Esther Little, Tayla Dalton and Bree Salenbien get one more game at home.
“We are really excited that we get to play in the Kennel again,” Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier said. “We get to play in front of the best fans in the country again and we hope they will show up for us.”
If Gonzaga wins, it would face either No. 1 Colorado (20-12) or Southeastern Louisiana (26-4). Second-round games are Sunday.
Gonzaga was a long shot for the NCAA Tournament after falling to Oregon State 63-61 in the WCC semifinals last week. Oregon State won the tournament.
It’s the fifth straight year Gonzaga has been selected to a postseason tournament and 10th time in 11 years under Fortier.
“We do our best to position ourselves to play in the postseason and our team has done enough to be able to achieve that,” Fortier said.
Fortier and her team are excited to get beyond the WCC tournament.
“We have parts of our game we can continue to improve and believe our best basketball is still ahead of us,” Fortier said.
Arizona (19-13) was selected to the WBIT, receiving a 2 seed. The Wildcats will open against Big Sky regular-season runner-up Northern Arizona (26-7).
UNLV (25-7), seeded No. 2, will face Hawaii (22-9).
Wyoming (22-11), seeded No. 4, opens against Texas Tech (17-17). Wyoming’s roster includes Gonzaga transfer Payton Muma and former Coeur d’Alene High standout Madi Symons.
Illinois won the inaugural WBIT, topping Villanova in the title game. Villanova (18-14) was selected and given a 4 seed.
Cougars still playing
Washington State (20-13), which advanced to the Final Four of the first WBIT last season, learned it was picked for the 48-team Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). The Cougars will learn their opponent and when and where they play Monday morning.
It’s the fifth straight year Washington State has been selected to a postseason tournament.
“Achieving a spot in a postseason tournament is a yearly goal for our team,” WSU coach Kamie Ethridge said. “The WNIT is a long-standing, prestigious tournament. Previous champions and participants often springboard into deep runs into the NCAA Tournament. Our young team will benefit from every highly pressurized and competitive ‘win-or-go home’ tournament style game we play.”
Ethridge also is thrilled that the team’s lone senior, Tara Wallack, gets to keep playing.
“Since crowd size determines who hosts games as the tournament goes on, we need every Coug fan in the area to be part of our WNIT championship drive and experience.”