2009 Preseason WNIT Bracket
Preseason WNIT Three-Game Guarantee Format
CHICAGO, Ill. – Chicago State women’s basketball opens the 2009-10 season with a road contest at Bowling Green in a first round game of the 2009 Preseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) on Friday, Nov. 13, which was announced on June 30 in a press release by the tournament’s organizers. The winner of the game will face either Eastern Illinois or Ohio State in the quarterfinals on Nov. 15 or 16.
CSU is participating in a national preseason tournament for the first time in school history as it earned an invitation to compete in the prestigious yearly event. The tournament has been in existence on the women’s college basketball circuit since 1994.
The announced 16-team field includes schools from various conferences, including the ACC, Big East, Big 12, Big Ten and Mid-American. CSU is the first member of the Great West Conference to be invited to the tournament, which will have all of its games hosted by participating schools
The current Preseason WNIT format, which started in 2007, guarantees that each team will play three games and invites only one team per conference. Invitations to the tournament are made based on expected team strength for the upcoming 2009-10 season, as well as past team history. Other factors at times include conference results, fan base and geographical location.
The Cougars posted consecutive winning seasons for the first time in school history after tying a school record with a 16-13 record in 2008-09 which included advancing to the championship game of the 2009 National Independent Tournament and posting a 10-3 home record. Seventh-year head coach Angela Jackson welcomes back four starters from last season’s squad, including All-Independent Honorable Mention honorees in sophomore Jael Peña (Harlem, N.Y.) and junior Elana Wroten (Chicago, Ill.).
Listed below are the pairings for the tournament’s first round and the Cougars will announce their entire 2009-10 slate at a later date. For more information on the Preseason WNIT, go to www.womensnit.com.
2009 Preseason WNIT First Round Games (2008-09 Records in parentheses)
All game times are Central
Eastern Illinois (24-9) at Ohio State (29-6), 4 p.m.
UTEP (18-12) at Florida Gulf Coast (26-5), 6 p.m.
Arkansas-Little Rock (26-7) at Oklahoma State (17-16), 6 p.m.
Towson (17-13) at West Virginia (18-15), 6 p.m.
Winthrop (16-16) at Georgia Tech (22-10), 6:30 p.m.
Chicago State (16-13) at Bowling Green (29-5), 6:30 p.m.
North Carolina A&T (26-7) at Marist (29-4), 6:30 p.m.
Northern Colorado (12-18) at New Mexico (25-11), 8 p.m.