UT Arlington Women's Basketball Earns Berth To WNIT

Published on March 17, 2025

By Todd Cruff, Assistant Director of Communications, UT Arlington Athletics

The UT Arlington women's basketball team will host Incarnate Word in the first round of the Postseason Women's National Invitational Tournament on Thursday, March 20, at the College Park Center. Tip-off is slated for 6:30 p.m.

The Lady Mavs, who have posted a 17-13 overall record to date and are fresh off a Western Athletic Conference Championship appearance received at at-large bid to host the opening round of the 2025 WNIT. UTA will participate in the postseason WNIT for the fifth time in program history (1999, 2009, 2017, 2019) and host for the first time since 2019.

The game between the Lady Mavs and the Cardinals can be seen on ESPN+. Ticketing information will be available Tuesday.

The winner of Thursday's game between UTA and UIW will take on North Texas in the second round. The date and location of the game will be determined at a later date.

UTA head coach Shereka Wright and the Lady Mavs are currently 7-7 in non-conference play and 11-1 at home this season.

UIW is appearing in postseason play for the first time since 2022. Continuing a campaign in which the Cardinals amassed a 18-13 record on the season and a 12-8 Southland Conference record.

First round action begins Thursday, March 20, and runs through Saturday, March 22. Second round games are slated for March 23-25, Super 16 from March 26-28, Great 8 from March 29-31, the Fab 4 from April 1-2 and the Championship game on Saturday, April 5. The championship game will be broadcast live on the CBS Sports Network.

For more information, visit the WNIT's website at www.womensnit.com.

POSTSEASON WNIT

The Women's National Invitation Tournament is an annual tournament involving 64 of the nation's top women's Division I basketball teams. All games, including the semifinals and championship, are hosted by participating schools. Every round is single elimination.

The Postseason WNIT features 32 first-round games, followed by 16 second-round games, eight third-round games, four quarterfinal games, two semifinal games, and the championship. The championship game is televised live nationally. The event offers 32 automatic berths, one to each established conference, and 32 at-large berths.

POSTSEASON WNIT HISTORY

The Postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament began in 1998 with 16 teams playing for a postseason crown. The event has undergone four expansions throughout which its mission has remained the same: To give deserving teams a quality opportunity to play exciting games for a postseason title.

Following the inaugural year, the field doubled to 32 teams and remained that way until 2006 when a renewed commitment was made to schools. The WNIT expanded to a 40-team field to give spots to teams that won their regular-season conference title but did not win their conference tournament and therefore were excluded from the NCAA Tournament.

The WNIT furthered that commitment to conferences in 2007, when it expanded to 48 teams and awarded an automatic berth to each conference. The number of at-large berths remained at 17 until 2010, when the WNIT felt that the level of women's basketball warranted an expansion to the 64-team field.

Round 1 schedule (all times CT)

Thursday, March 20

Army West Point (24-7) at Bryant (17-14), 4p.m.
Campbell (21-12) at Coastal Carolina (23-8), 5p.m.
Longwood (22-11) at Duquesne (19-12), 5 p.m.
Stonehill (17-15) at UMass (16-14), 5 p.m.
Lipscomb (20-11) at Western Illinois (16-16), 6 p.m.
Northwestern State (16-15) at Abilene Christian (20-12), 6 p.m.
Saint Mary's (14-16) at Texas Southern (16-15), 6:30 p.m.
UIW (18-13) at UT Arlington (17-13), 6:30 p.m.
Tulsa (17-14) at Lindenwood (21-10), 7 p.m.
New Mexico State (17-15) at Pacific (15-18), 8 p.m.

Friday, March 21

Siena (17-13) at Howard (21-11), 6p.m.
UAB (16-15) at UIC (14-17), 7 p.m.
Utah Valley (18-12) at Air Force (18-14), 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 22

Navy (19-11) at Old Dominion (17-15), 1 p.m.
Alabama A&M (21-10) at Chattanooga (16-14), 1p.m.
Coppin State (18-14) at Colgate (23-9), 4 p.m.

Round 2 in bracket order (dates, times, locations TBA)

Air Force/Utah Valley vs. Washington State (20-13)
Pacific/New Mexico State vs. North Dakota State (19-11)
UT Arlington/UIW vs. North Texas (24-8)
Chattanooga/Alabama A&M vs. Troy (20-13)
Abilene Christian/Northwestern State vs. Central Arkansas (23-9)
Western Illinois/Lipscomb vs. Illinois State (21-12)
Lindenwood/Tulsa vs. Tarleton State (20-13)
Texas Southern/Saint Mary's vs. Louisiana Tech (16-15)
UMass/Stonehill vs. Buffalo (25-7)
Coastal Carolina/Campbell vs. Southern Indiana (22-12)
Bryant/Army West Point vs. Rutgers (11-19)
Howard/Siena vs. College of Charleston (24-7)
Duquesne/Longwood vs. Miami (OH) (19-11)
Colgate/Coppin State vs. Cleveland State (24-9)
Old Dominion/Navy vs. Purdue Fort Wayne (25-8)
UIC/UAB vs. Butler (15-17)