Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons to Participate in 2009 Preseason WNIT
June 30, 2009 | Women's Basketball
BGSU to host Chicago State in first of at least three games
Complete WNIT Bracket in PDF Form
WNIT Information in PDF Form
The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team will host a first-round game in the 2009 Preseason Women's National Invitation Tournament. The Falcons of head coach Curt Miller will face Chicago State University on Friday, November 13, at venerable Anderson Arena.
The 16-team field for the 2009 Preseason WNIT, announced on Tuesday (June 30), includes 11 teams that played in the postseason last spring. In addition to the Falcons, that list includes Arkansas-Little Rock, Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia Tech, Marist, New Mexico, North Carolina A&T, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, West Virginia and Winthrop. They will be joined in the Preseason WNIT field by Chicago State, Eastern Illinois, Northern Colorado, Towson, and UTEP.
The winner of the BGSU-CSU game will face the Eastern Illinois-Ohio State winner in the second round, at a site to be determined on the following Sunday or Monday (Nov. 15-16).
Under the Preseason WNIT format, participating teams are guaranteed at least three games. The tourney involves 16 teams from 16 different conferences that were included by invitation only. All games are hosted by participating schools. The initial round of the event will involve eight sites hosted by participating institutions. The winner's bracket will look identical to past Preseason WNIT tournaments.
The 2009-10 season marks the Falcons' second appearance in the Preseason WNIT, but BG's first since the tourney went to the current format. BGSU's lone prior Preseason WNIT game was an 89-41 loss at Ohio State on Nov. 12, 2004. That Falcon team went on to win the first of five-straight Mid-American Conference regular-season titles under Miller, a streak that remains active.
BGSU has participated in the Postseason WNIT three times, including in each of the last two seasons. In March, the Falcons earned a first-round bye, then defeated Syracuse in the second round before falling to Indiana. Both the SU and IU games were played at Anderson.
Some additional information on the Preseason WNIT format, courtesy the WNIT office:
First Round Winners
The eight Round One winners will continue on in traditional bracket play, with half of them hosting the other half in separate host sites. The winning teams will continue on, with separate host sites throughout the semifinals and championship. The two teams in the championship game will play four games in the tournament.
First Round Losers
The eight teams who lose their first games will be re-grouped into “Consolation bracket quads,” which are two four-team pools. One team in each pool will be selected to host the other three teams. The host site will be announced after the completion of all Round 1 games. Each team in this consolation round will play two games for a total of three in the tournament. These are called Consolation Rounds 1 and 2.
Quarterfinal Round Losers (from original bracket)
Of the four quarterfinal teams that lose in that round, two teams will be selected to host one of the other quarterfinal round losers in a single game at separate sites. This game provides the third game for each of these schools. This round is Consolation Round 3.
The Preseason WNIT, as mentioned, features a three-game guarantee format. The event opens Friday, Nov. 13 with first-round games. Second-round games will be played Nov. 15-16; semifinals will be Nov. 18-19; and the championship is set for Sunday, Nov. 22. Teams that lose in the first two rounds will play consolation games on the second weekend, Nov. 20-22. All games are hosted by participating schools, and sites are announced by the end of the preceding round.
The first-round schedule is as follows (all games on Friday, Nov. 13, 2009 -- '08-09 team records in parentheses)
Eastern Illinois (24-9) at Ohio State (29-6), 5 p.m. ET
UTEP (18-12) at Florida Gulf Coast (26-5), 7 p.m. ET
Arkansas-Little Rock (26-7) at Oklahoma State (17-16), 7 p.m. ET
Towson (17-13) at West Virginia (18-15), 7 p.m. ET
Winthrop (16-16) at Georgia Tech (22-10), 7:30 p.m. ET
Chicago State (16-13) at Bowling Green (29-5), 7:30 p.m. ET
North Carolina A&T (26-7) at Marist (29-4), 7:30 p.m. ET
Northern Colorado (12-18) at New Mexico (25-11), 9 p.m. ET
Brief sketches on each team:
- Arkansas-Little Rock is coming off its best win total in school history and returns all five starters from its 26-7 team.
- Bowling Green returns MAC Player of the Year Lauren Prochaska, honorable mention All-American Tracy Pontius and eight other letterwinners from a 29-5 team that won its fifth-straight MAC regular-season title.
- Chicago State has posted more wins in the past two years than at any other time, and welcomes back four starters from its 16-13 team.
- Eastern Illinois vaulted to a 24-9 record last year, its most Division I wins in school history, and the incoming class of freshmen received national recognition.
- Florida Gulf Coast gets every player back from its second straight postseason appearance. The Eagles, still in Division I infancy, finished the season on a 17-1 stretch and a 26-5 record overall.
- Georgia Tech (22-10) topped 20 wins for the third straight season, and also earned its third straight NCAA Tournament berth. The Yellow Jackets return four starters and are an early-season Top-20 team.
- Marist will kick off All-American Rachele Fitz's senior season with its first Preseason WNIT invitation. Marist (29-4) has won six straight Metro Atlantic titles and become a staple in the NCAA Tournament.
- New Mexico welcomes back all but two players from a 25-11 team that advanced to the quarterfinals of the Postseason WNIT and won at least 20 games for the 11th time in 12 years.
- North Carolina A&T is coming off its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 15 years. A senior class of five players looks to build on a school record for wins that last year's 26-7 team posted.
- Northern Colorado has high expectations in the Big Sky with all five starters returning from a young team that went 12-18 last year.
- Oklahoma State signed three top junior college players to support Andrea Riley, who averaged 23.0 ppg, 6.0 apg, and 4.2 rpg last year. The Cowgirls expect bigger things for 2009-10 coming off their 17-16 season in the Big 12.
- Ohio State, picked No. 3 in early polls for this fall, advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament after capturing the Big Ten Conference regular-season and tournament titles. The Buckeyes return two-time Big Ten Player of the Year Jantel Lavender, as well as Big Ten Freshman of the Year Samantha Prahalis.
- Towson is a program on the rise, winning its first Colonial Athletic Association Tournament games in school history in 2008 and 2009. The Tigers welcome back their top five scorers from a 17-13 team.
- UTEP, which went 18-12 last year with its youngest team in school history, has everybody back, including three players lost to season-ending injuries and the Conference-USA Player of the Year (Jareica Hughes) and Freshman of the Year (Dietra Caldwell).
- West Virginia also was young and injury-bitten last year, but looks forward to getting three returning starters back on the court from an 18-15 team that showed promise of things to come with some upset victories.
- Winthrop made the postseason (WNIT) for the first time in its Division I history last year as the automatic berth out of the Big South. The Lady Eagles (16-16) recorded back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in school history.
In last year's Preseason WNIT final, North Carolina defeated Oklahoma 80-79 in a fierce battle of Top-5 teams.
For more information, visit the WNIT website at www.womensnit.com.
