Moon Township, Pa.?The Robert Morris University women's basketball team accepted an invitation to play in the 2008 Preseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) which is scheduled to begin on Nov.14, 2008. The Colonials are the first team from the Northeast Conference to play in the event since 2000.
“It's a great honor to be selected for a prestigious preseason tournament like the WNIT,” said head coach Sal Buscaglia. “It certainly indicates how far this program has come. I'm very proud all the accomplishments that we have made in four short years of being here ? three 20-win seasons, a conference championship and a NCAA tournament appearance and now a selection into a national tournament of this nature.
“In addition, I believe the grueling schedule we have played this year against teams from some of the toughest conferences in the nation ? our ability to compete against these teams ? showed the WNIT selection committee the quality program we have assembled at Robert Morris.”
Through Dec. 30, 2007, Robert Morris had played the 48th toughest schedule in the nation according to RPIRatings.com. The Colonials took to the road for nine of their first 11 games of the season while playing teams from the top conferences in the nation, including the ACC, SEC, Big 12, Conference USA, America East and the MAC. As of Dec. 30, five of RMU's first 11 opponents were in the RPI top-100.
Despite a nearly unrivaled early season slate, RMU is 6-9 through the first 15 games of the 2007-08 season despite returning just three letterwinners from their record-setting 2006-07 squad. The Colonials have held the lead in the second half of every game this season except two, and have knocked off the likes of Conference USA preseason favorite Tulane and the Vermont Catamounts, who were picked to finish second in the America East Conference.
Robert Morris earned its first-ever berth into the NCAA Tournament in 2007 after tying for first in the NEC regular season and then taking the conference tournament title. The Colonials 24-8 record in 2006-07 came just four short seasons after the program went 3-24 in 2003-04.
Robert Morris is guaranteed to play three games in the WNIT, beginning with opening round games on Nov. 14. Winners will continue on to play in the championship bracket while the eight teams that lose in the first round will play in two four-team consolation brackets. The quarterfinals of the tournament take place on Nov. 16-17, followed by the semifinals Nov. 19-21 and the championship game on Nov. 23. The consolation bracket games will be played Nov. 21-22. All games will be played at participating team sites.
The WNIT is an annual 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 and only one team from each conference can participate in a given year.
