FAIRFIELD, Conn. - The Fairfield University women's
basketball team will host Drexel University in the first round of the
Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) on Thursday, March 15 in
Alumni Hall. The time of the game will be announced by WNIT officials on
Tuesday, March 13.
Fairfield (24-8) will be making its second-ever WNIT appearance and its
first in more than a decade. The Stags secured an automatic berth to the
WNIT after finishing as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC)
runner-up. Fairfield fell to top-seeded Marist in the MAAC Championship
Final on March 5.
Fairfield's last WNIT appearance came during the 1999-2000 after winning
a MAAC Regular Season crown, but falling in the MAAC Championship
Final. During that WNIT appearance, the Stags travelled to the
University of Wisconsin.
Drexel, which is making its third consecutive WNIT appearance, went
18-13 overall this season and 12-6 in the Colonial Athletic Association
(CAA). The Dragons advanced to the CAA Championship final where they
fell to No.7/8 University of Delaware. Thursday's game will be the
first-ever meeting between Drexel and Fairfield.
The Postseason WNIT features a 64-team field. The tournament offers
automatic berths to 31 teams - one per conference - and then selects 33
at-large teams. The Pac-12, Colonial, and Atlantic-10 led all
conferences with five teams represented in this year's field. The Big
East, Big West, Mid-American, and Missouri Valley each added four. Other
conferences represented in the field include: Atlantic Coast (3),
Southern (3), Summit (3), America East (2), Big 12 (2), Conference USA
(2), Sun Belt (2), West Coast (2), Atlantic Sun (1), Big Sky (1), Big
South (1), Horizon (1), Ivy (1), MAAC (1), MEAC (1), Mountain West (1),
Northeast (1), Ohio Valley (1), Patriot (1), Southland (1), SWAC (1),
and WAC (1).
First round action tips off on Wednesday, March 14 and concludes on
Friday, March 16. Second round games begin March 17-19, Round Three
March 21-23, Quarterfinals March 24-26, and Semifinals March 28-29. The
Championship Final will be played on Saturday, March 31. All games,
including the final, are hosted by participating schools. The
championship game and one semifinal game will be televised live on CBS
Sports Network.