USF's women's basketball team, which won three of its last four games to clinch a winning record at 16-15, has earned a berth in the Women's NIT, the Bulls' fifth straight year playing in the postseason. USF will open the tournament Friday in Fort Myers at Florida Gulf Coast, which went 21-8 in a transition year to Division I.
"I'm just pleased for our kids, for the season to continue, especially when we have all those kids coming back," USF coach Jose Fernandez said Monday night. "There are a lot of teams across the country that would love to be playing right now. It puts another banner up in the rafters."
The winner of Friday's game will play Monday against Florida, which earned a first-round bye after being passed over for the NCAA Tournament.
It's USF's fourth trip to the WNIT in five years, along with an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2006. FGCU only played three opponents ranked in the RPI top 100 and lost all three, including games against Florida (78-52) and Florida State (93-53). No date has been set, though the game will be Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.
Times sportswriter Greg Auman, who covers USF, will post news and thoughts on the Bulletin and we invite your participation in the comments area.
I think this a must-win game. Losing to a transitional program is bad enough, but one that is in our backyard is another problem. I'm pretty sure we'll take it. Congrats on 5 consecutive post-season appearances. Given the way this season started, making the NIT is a positive.
Posted by: Dave W | March 18, 2008 at 11:32 AM
Great news--congrats to everyone involved.
Posted by: Ken | March 18, 2008 at 08:10 AM