PRESEASON WNIT PRESEASON WNIT Nov. 11-20, 2016 Nov. 11-20, 2016 Tournament History and Notes #WNIT Tournament History and Notes www.womensnit.com www.womensnit.com About the WNIT The Preseason WNIT kicks off the women’s college basketball season and will Tournament Field be played Nov. 11-20. The tournament is formatted to give all teams a three- Team Conference game guarantee. The event opens Nov. 11 with Round One. Round Two will Abilene Christian Southland be played Nov. 13-14; Semifinals will be Nov. 17; and the championship is set Central Michigan MAC for Sunday, Nov. 20 at 3 p.m. ET. The championship game will be nationally televised live on CBS Sports Network. Colorado State MWC Eastern Washington Big Sky If a team loses in the first two rounds, they will finish the tournament in the con- Elon Colonial solation bracket. The consolation bracket will be re-drawn to form new match- Fordham Atlantic 10 ups based on the geography of teams involved, who can/cannot host, and re- cent history of teams. The consolation bracket will be released Nov. 12 after all Furman Southern of the Round One games are complete. Green Bay Horizon Little Rock Sun Belt The Preseason WNIT began in its modern form in 1994. It is organized and pro- duced by Triple Crown Sports, a national sports event company based in Fort Missouri SEC Collins, Colo. The 16-team Preseason WNIT was originally a single-elimination Nebraska Big Ten exempt event and moved to the current three-game guarantee format in 2007. North Texas C-USA Notre Dame ACC The Preseason WNIT field consists of: Abilene Christian (Southland); Central Michigan (MAC); Colorado State (MWC); Eastern Washington (Big Sky); Elon Omaha Summit (Colonial); Fordham (Atlantic 10); Furman (Southern); Green Bay (Horizon); UTRGV WAC Little Rock (Sun Belt); Missouri (SEC); Nebraska (Big Ten); North Texas (C- Washington Pac-12 USA); Notre Dame (ACC); Omaha (Summit), University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (WAC); and Washington (Pac-12). Tournament Schedule This is the 23rd rendition of the Preseason WNIT, featuring 11 teams that Round #1 reached either the NCAA or WNIT postseason tournaments this past March. Nov. 11, 2016 All games, including the championship and consolation rounds, are hosted by participating schools. Central Michigan at Notre Dame, 7 p.m. ET Furman at Fordham, 7 p.m. ET Making their Preseason WNIT debut are the squads from Abilene Christian, North Texas at Little Rock, 7:30 p.m. ET Central Michigan, Elon, Fordham, Green Bay, Missouri, Omaha and UTRGV. Abilene Christian at Missouri, 8 p.m. ET It’s the second time around for Eastern Washington (2005), Furman (1997), Elon at Green Bay, 8 p.m. ET Little Rock (2009), North Texas (2006) and Washington (1994-champions). Joining the event for the third time is Colorado State (1998-champions, 2002) Omaha at Colorado State, 9 p.m. ET and Nebraska (1997, 2004); Notre Dame is in the mix for the fifth time (1996, Eastern Washington at Washington, 10 p.m. ET 2004-champions, 2007, 2011). Nov. 12, 2016 Notre Dame enters the Preseason WNIT ranked No. 1 in the Preseason AP poll UTRGV at Nebraska, 2 p.m. ET and No. 2 in the USA Today Coaches poll . For the first time since 2011, a No. 1-ranked team will be playing in the Preseason WNIT. In 2011, No. 1 Baylor knocked off No. 2 Notre Dame to win the championship, 94-81. Other teams Round #2 ranked or receiving votes include: Washington (No. 15 & 17), Missouri (No. 24 Nov. 13-14, 2016 / RV), Colorado State (RV / RV) and Green Bay (RV / RV). Semifinals National TV Nov. 17, 2016 CBS Sports Network will televise the championship game of the Preseason WNIT live and in HD on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 3 p.m. ET, with Thad Anderson Championship Game (play-by-play) and Curt Miller (analyst) calling the Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016 game. 3 p.m. ET - CBS Sports Network *Consolation Games: Nov. 18-19 Miller spent 13 years as an NCAA DI head coach compiling a 290-124 overall *All games are hosted by participating schools record and earning six conference Coach of the Year awards. Miller is currently the head coach and general manager of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun. Ander- son has called play-by-play for the WNIT since 2007 and currently calls games for ESPN, CBS Sports Network, and the Pac 12 Network. www.womensnit.com | Media Contact: Andy Hansen | (970) 672-0517 | [email protected] www.womensnit.com | Media Contact: Andy Hansen | (970) 672-0517 | [email protected] PRESEASON WNIT Nov. 13-22, 2015 #WNIT#WNIT Tournament History and Notes www.womensnit.com TEAM NOTES Abilene Christian went 26-4 last season, winning the Southland Conference, but could not play in the NCAA Tournament as the program finish- es its transition from D-II to D-I. The Wildcats have one more year to go in that shift; they did play in the 2016 Postseason WNIT and lost a close game in the first round to eventual quarterfinalist UTEP. Five players had double-digit scoring averages, and four are slated to return, including Alexis Mason (17.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game) and twin sisters Suzzy Dimba (11.8 ppg, 7.7 rpg) and Lizzy Dimba (10.1 ppg, 7.8 rpg). Central Michigan stubbed its toe at the end of 2015-16’s 22-11 campaign, losing in overtime to Buffalo in the MAC tournament final and shoot- ing barely 30 percent in a first-round Postseason WNIT loss to IUPUI. The Chippewas welcome back four starters, including sophomore Presley Hudson, who led the team in steals and averaged a team-best 13.9 ppg. Two key juniors also return – 6-foot-3 forward Tinara Moore (13.7 ppg, 9.6 rpg) and 5-10 guard Cassie Breen (12.6 ppg). Colorado State grabbed some national attention with a 28-game winning streak last season. The Rams were 31-2 overall, and came very close to springing an upset versus South Florida in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Coach Ryun Williams has brought in several foreign-born players to turn around the Rams from years of struggle – nine of the 15 players on last year’s roster were born outside the United States. Senior guard Ellen Nystrom set a single-season record for assists with 186; the team also played lock-down defense, ranking sixth in the nation at 51.2 ppg allowed. Eastern Washington returns four starters from last year’s squad that finished 20-12 overall and should be hungry for more; the Eagles were one of five teams in the nation to win 20 games but miss the postseason. Delaney Hodgins averaged right at 16 points and seven rebounds per game as a sophomore; she’s one of the linchpin players on the roster with the graduation of older sister Hayley Hodgins, who became the pro- gram’s all-time leading scorer (1,865 points). Ashli Payne, a community college transfer, had a standout junior season and chipped in 11.2 points and a team-high 8.6 rebounds per contest. Elon was invited to the Postseason WNIT for the second straight year in program history, but fell in the first round to Virginia Tech to finish 18-13 overall. The Phoenix return their top seven scorers from that squad. Junior Shay Burnett averaged right at 13 points and eight rebounds per game. Entering her senior year, Lauren Brown is looking to build on her numbers (9.1 ppg); she’s one of four players who averaged just a little bit less than 10 points per contest. Fordham has to say goodbye to Samantha Clark, one of the most accomplished players in program history, but three players look more than capable of filling the void (Hannah Missry, G’Mrice Davis, Danielle Burns). Burns and Missry are talented 3-point shooters, while Davis came through with more than seven rebounds per game. Fordham hopes to be bolstered by eligible transfers Tiffany Suarez (Virginia) and Nicole Floyd (Wake Forest).The Rams were 14-17 last season; coach Stephanie Gaitley is doing impressive work in rebuilding the program, putting three 20-win seasons together in her five years at Fordham. The team had gone nearly two decades without a winning record. Furman will lean on senior-to-be guard Whitney Bunn (who attended Bunn HS in her hometown of Bunn, NC). She averaged 16.1 points per game last year and led the team in assists and steals as the Paladins finished 15-16 overall. She’s already the program’s all-time leader in as- sists. Junior-to-be Cierra Carter averaged 11 points and 8.2 rebounds last year and provides interior muscle for Furman. The Paladins shot a solid 33 percent from the 3-point line last year and will look to take the next leap by taking better care of the ball (439 turnovers, to the opposi- tion’s 360). Green Bay claimed its 18th consecutive conference title (14th Horizon League title) this past season and ended up 28-5 overall after losing to Tennessee in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Allie LeClaire is back for her junior year, averaging 12.5 ppg; the Phoenix are defined by their fierce defense (52.2 ppg allowed, ninth best in the nation). Head coach Kevin Borseth is in his second stint with the Phoenix (1998-2007, 2012-16) and has 410 wins in his career. www.womensnit.com | Media Contact: Andy Hansen | (970) 672-0517 | [email protected] PRESEASON WNIT PRESEASON WNIT Nov.