Rider University Selected to Participate in the 2014 Preseason WNIT
Rider Sports Information
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Fresh off an appearance in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference semifinals this past March, the Rider University women’s basketball team has been selected as one of 16 teams to participate in the 2014 Women's Preseason National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) it was announced on Wednesday.
“We are honored to be invited and to participate in an event of this caliber,” said head coach Lynn Milligan who will begin her eighth season at Rider in 2014-15. “To be part of the WNIT solidifies the progress that we have made over the past several seasons and is also further evidence on how strong the MAAC is. To be looked at by the committee as a quality representation of women’s basketball is gratifying and we are excited for the opportunity.”
The Women's National Invitation Tournament is an annual invitation-only tournament involving 16 of the nation's top women's Division I basketball teams. A team may participate no more than once in a four-year period. Additionally, only one institution per conference may play in the tournament in the same year.
The 2014 field includes Albany, Arkansas State, Central Arkansas, Colorado, Eastern Kentucky, Jackson State, Mercer, Mississippi State, North Dakota, Penn State, Rider, Seton Hall, St. Francis Brooklyn, Towson, West Virginia, and Western Kentucky.
Teams are selected for the Preseason WNIT based on their program’s expected success for that season, their relevant past, their conference standings, fan base, and geographical location, to name a few criteria. The teams that compete well in the Preseason WNIT typically go on to finish very strong and advance to postseason play.
The Preseason WNIT is formatted to give all teams a three-game guarantee. The event opens Nov. 14-15 with Round One. Round Two will be played Nov. 16-17; Semifinals will be Nov. 19-20; and the championship is set for Sunday, Nov. 23 at 3 p.m. ET. The championship game will be nationally televised live in HD on CBS Sports Network.
Teams that lose in the first two rounds will play consolation games on Nov. 21-22. All games are hosted by participating schools. The official tournament bracket with first-round opponents, game dates, and times will be announced in June.
Last season, Louisville won the title in overtime, battling back from a 15-point deficit to defeat Oklahoma 97-92 before over 7,300 fans in Norman, Oklahoma.
The Preseason WNIT began in its modern form in 1994. It is organized and produced by Triple Crown Sports, a national sports event company based in Fort Collins, Colorado. The 16-team Preseason WNIT was originally a single-elimination exempt event, and moved to the current three-game guarantee format in 2007. Throughout the years, more than 200 of the nation’s Division I teams have played in the event, representing all 32 conferences.
In 2013, Quinnipiac University from the MAAC participated and defeated North Carolina A&T before losing to Louisville and UT-Martin. In 2011, Manhattan College was the MAAC representative with Iona College participating in 2010. In 2009, Marist College won two of three games in the Preseason WNIT.
“To represent the MAAC in a national tournament is an honor,” Milligan added. “We want to do our best to represent the conference in the best way that we can.”
Rider graduates all-time leading rebounder and Second Team All-MET selection MyNeshia McKenzie but the Broncs return 10 letterwinners in 2014-15 from a squad that compiled a 15-17 record, the fifth most wins in the 75-year history of the sport at Rider.