Lady Aggies travel to South Carolina to open WNIT
March 18, 2008
GREENSBORO – After heartbreaking loss in the MEAC Championship Game on Saturday, the North Carolina A&T women’s basketball team still has one more chance to win a tournament championship. The Aggies will play in their first postseason game in 14 years when they face the University of South Carolina on Friday, March 21 in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament at the Colonial Center in Columbia, S.C.
 The brackets were released late Monday night. A game time for the contest has not been set by the Gamecocks as of yet. A win could put the Aggies back in Raleigh where they just played three games in the MEAC Tournament because Friday’s winner will play N.C. State at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh NEXT Monday night.
“We had a great season,’’ said head coach Patricia Cage-Bibbs. “I think playing in this tournament will remind people of that. Yes, we would love to play in the NCAA tournament. But in our case, you have to have had a great season to play in this tournament too.”
The Aggies received an automatic bid to the WNIT because they won the MEAC regular-season. The Aggies go into the tournament with a 25-7 record, which is their best record in school history. Meanwhile, the Gamecocks will be making their third straight appearance in the WNIT. The Gamecocks received an at-large bid after going 15-15 overall and 4-10 in the SEC.
The two teams are familiar with one another. The Gamecocks defeated the Aggies 117-63 last season in Columbia. The Aggies are also familiar with N.C. State. The Aggies lost to the Wolfpack in December, 75-61, at Reynolds Coliseum. It was a game that was closer than the score indicates.
The WNIT is a 48-team tournament that features some of the best mid-majors in the country who did not win their conference tournaments. It also features schools from power conferences that were not selected to compete in the NCAA Tournament. The WNIT kicks off postseason action Wednesday, with first-round games. All games are held on the campuses of participating schools. Thirty-two teams will play in the first round, 16 teams received a bye and will begin their tournament with a second-round game.
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