2019 Women's National Invitation Tournament

The 2019 Women's National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 64 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2019 Women's NCAA tournament. The tournament committee announced the 64-team field on March 18, following the selection of the NCAA Tournament field. The tournament began on March 20, 2019, and concluded on April 6, 2019, with the championship game televised on the CBS Sports Network.[1] In the championship game, Arizona defeated Northwestern 56–42 to win the tournament.

2019 Women's National Invitation Tournament
Season2018–19
Teams64
Finals siteMcKale Center
Tucson, Arizona
ChampionsArizona (1st title)
Runner-upNorthwestern (1st title game)
Semifinalists
Winning coachAdia Barnes (1st title)
MVPAari McDonald (Arizona)
Attendance14,644 (championship game)
Women's National Invitation Tournaments
«2018 2020»

Participants

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The 2019 Postseason WNIT field consists of 30 automatic invitations – one from each conference – and 34 at-large teams. Utah and LSU declined their respective automatic invitations.[2][3] The declined spots were filled as part of the at–large selection process. The intention of the WNIT Selection Committee was to select the best available at-large teams in the nation. Teams with the highest finishes in their conferences’ regular-season standings that were not selected for the NCAA Tournament were offered an automatic berth. The remaining berths in the WNIT were filled by the best teams available. Teams considered for an at–large berth have overall records of .500 or better.

Source:[4]

Bracket

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All times are listed as Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)
* – Denotes overtime period

Round 1
March 20–22
Round 2
March 23–24
Round 3
March 28
Quarterfinals
March 31
Arkansas 88*
Houston 80 Arkansas 100
Troy 89 UAB 52
UAB 93 Arkansas 78
TCU 72 TCU 82
Prairie View A&M 41 TCU 71
UT Arlington 60 UT Arlington 54
Stephen F. Austin 54 TCU 69
Green Bay 59 Cincinnati 55
Kent State 64 Kent State 52
Butler 89 Butler 70
Northeastern 72 Butler 65
Minnesota 91 Cincinnati 72
Northern Iowa 75 Minnesota 65
Cincinnati 76 Cincinnati 72
Youngstown State 62
Round 1
March 20–22
Round 2
March 24
Round 3
March 27–28
Quarterfinals
March 30
West Virginia 83
Rider 43 West Virginia 64
Villanova 86* Villanova 57
Old Dominion 81 West Virginia 54
Toledo 71 Northwestern 56
Seton Hall 65 Toledo 47
Northwestern 74 Northwestern 54
Dayton 51 Northwestern 61
Ohio State 61 Ohio 58
Morehead State 71 Morehead State 65
Miami (OH) 63 Western Kentucky 68
Western Kentucky 67 Western Kentucky 60
Middle Tennessee 59 Ohio 68
IUPUI 47 Middle Tennessee 57
Ohio 81 Ohio 59
High Point 74
Round 1
March 20–22
Round 2
March 24
Round 3
March 28
Quarterfinals
March 31
New Mexico 75
Denver 83 Denver 66
Loyola 64 Idaho 88
Idaho 79 Idaho 60
Arizona 66 Arizona 68
Idaho State 56 Arizona 64
Fresno State 72 Pacific 48
Pacific 77 Arizona 67
Wyoming 68 Wyoming 45
Northern Colorado 60 Wyoming 78
Lamar 71 South Alabama 71
South Alabama 73 Wyoming 61
Saint Mary's 67 Pepperdine 60
Hawaii 43 Saint Mary's 61
Cal Baptist 79 Pepperdine 65
Pepperdine 91
Round 1
March 20–22
Round 2
March 24
Round 3
March 27–28
Quarterfinals
March 31
James Madison 48
North Carolina A&T 37 James Madison 71
South Florida 84 South Florida 54
Stetson 50 James Madison 70
VCU 65 Virginia Tech 66
Charlotte 52 VCU 72
Virginia Tech 92 Virginia Tech 82
Furman 65 James Madison 54
Harvard 69 Georgetown 44
Drexel 56 Harvard 65
Georgetown 90 Georgetown 70
Sacred Heart 59 Georgetown 53
Penn 64 Providence 46
American 45 Penn 54
Providence 71 Providence 64
Hartford 54

Semifinals and Championship Game

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Semifinals
April 3
Championship game
April 6, 3:00 p.m.
CBS Sports Network
      
James Madison 69
Northwestern 74
Northwestern 42
Arizona 56
TCU 53
Arizona 59

Semifinals

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Wed., April 3
7:00 pm
Northwestern 74, James Madison 69
Scoring by quarter: 19–11, 15–16, 23–20, 17–22
Wed., April 3
9:30 pm
TCU 53, Arizona 59
Scoring by quarter: 9–12, 14–17, 10–11, 20–19

Championship

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Sat., April 6
3:00 pm
Northwestern 42, Arizona 56
Scoring by quarter: 12–16, 5–14, 16–19, 9–7

All-tournament team

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  • Aari McDonald (Arizona), MVP
  • Cat Reese (Arizona)
  • Veronica Burton (Northwestern)
  • Lindsey Pulliam (Northwestern)
  • Jackie Benitez (James Madison)
  • Amy Okonkwo (TCU)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "EVENT INFO". Women's NIT. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Worn-down Ute women's basketball team will halt its season, turning down a WNIT bid". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Rabalais, Scott. "Season over: LSU women's basketball declines WNIT bid, misses NCAA tournament". The Advocate. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  4. ^ "Postseason WNIT Field". Women's NIT. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
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