Eastern Michigan Athletics
Women's Basketball to Play at Saint Mary’s in WNIT First Round
3/14/2016 11:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Eagles play Saint Mary's College, March 17, in Moraga, Calif.
WNIT Bracket (PDF).
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – After winning 21 games and advancing to its fourth Mid-American Conference Tournament Semifinal in the last six years, the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team was rewarded with a berth to the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), announced Monday, March 14, by the tournament selection committee. The Eagles will open the Postseason WNIT with a game Thursday, March 17, in Moraga, Calif., against Saint Mary's College University.
Playing in late March has become a regular tradition for Eastern Michigan, as the Eagles will participate in the postseason for the ninth time in the past 13 years. Prior to the 2003-04 campaign, EMU had never participated in the postseason. However, all that changed when EMU won the 2004 MAC Tournament and earned the automatic bid to the program's first NCAA Tournament. The Green and White have since followed it up with appearances in the 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2015 WNIT. EMU again returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2012 after winning the MAC Tournament and in 2014 hosted two rounds of the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI).
First-round action tips off Wednesday, March 16 and concludes Friday, March 18. Second-round games will run March 19-22, Round three goes March 23-25, quarterfinals are March 26-28, and semifinals will be played March 30-31. The championship game will be played Saturday, April 2 and will be televised live on CBS Sports Network at 3 p.m. ET. All games are hosted by participating schools.
This year's tournament features six teams from the Big Ten Conference, five from the Mid-American Conference and four each from the ACC, C-USA and West Coast Conference. Four conferences each placed three teams – American, A-10, Big East and Colonial. Other conferences represented include Big West (2), Horizon (2), Missouri Valley (2), Pac-12 (2), Summit (2), Sun Belt (2), America East (1), Atlantic Sun (1), Big 12 (1), Big Sky (1), Big South (1), Ivy (1), MAAC (1), MEAC (1), Mountain West (1), Northeast (1), OVC (1), Patriot (1), SEC (1), Southern (1), Southland (1), SWAC (1) and WAC (1).
The WNIT awards an automatic qualifying berth to each of the nation's 32 conferences. The spot goes to the team that finishes the highest in the regular-season conference standings that does not advance to the NCAA Tournament. If there is a tie, the WNIT abides by the conference tiebreaker. A team earns the automatic qualifying berth regardless of its overall record. However, to be considered for a WNIT at-large berth, a team must have an overall record of .500 or better.
The Eagles (21-11) posted a solid run to close out the regular season, winning eight of their last 11 games to earn their eighth 20-win season in the past 13 campaigns. A second-team All-MAC selection, junior guard Cha Sweeney (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) is the team's top scorer at 18.1 points per contest. Junior guard Janay Morton (Brooklyn Park, Minn.-Osseo), a third team All-MAC honoree and All-MAC Defensive team selection, ranks 14th nationally in steals (86) as well as 16th in the conference in scoring (13.2 ppg) and 11th in three-point percentage.
The Eagles are 5-8 all-time in the postseason including a pair of victories over Drake and Tulsa during their 2015 run to the WNIT "Sweet 16." In 2014, EMU knocked off Evansville in the opening round of the WBI before falling in the final moments to Illinois-Chicago.
The Gaels enter the tournament with a 24-7 (14-4 WCC) record after falling to San Francisco, 67-65, in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference, March 7. SMC was 11-4 on its home court inside McKeon Pavilion.
The EMU-SMC winner will play the winner of Texas Rio Grande Valley/TCU, March 17, at a site that will be determined later.
The Postseason WNIT is owned and produced by Triple Crown Sports, based in Fort Collins, Colo. TCS also organizes men's and women's college basketball tournaments in Cancun, and the Preseason WNIT. TCS is the leader in youth and collegiate sports and manages more than 100 amateur sporting events across the country in volleyball, fastpitch softball, baseball and basketball. With 33 years of experience in the event business, TCS is nationally-recognized as a premier tournament organization.
MAC POSTSEASON APPEARANCES SINCE 2003-04
Bowling Green 10 2005-06-07-08-09-10-11-12-13-14
Eastern Michigan 9 2004-05-06-10-11-12-14-15-16
Ball State 6 2007-09-13-14-15-16
Toledo 5 2010-11-12-13-15
Central Michigan 5 2011-12-13-14-16
Miami 4 2004-08-12-13
Akron 4 2013-14-15-16
Kent State 3 2004-10-11
Buffalo 2 2015-16
Ohio 2 2015-16
Western Michigan 2 2004-15
Wednesday, March 16
Milwaukee at Minnesota
Creighton at South Dakota
Wright State at Michigan
Alabama at Tulane
Thursday, March 17
Eastern Michigan at St. Mary's
UC Riverside at Gonzaga
Long Beach State at Oregon
UTRGV at TCU
Southern at Arkansas State
Abilene Christian at UTEP
Sacred Heart at Drake
Northern Iowa at Nebraska
Ball State at Iowa
Little Rock at Saint Louis
UT Martin at Memphis
Dayton at Western Kentucky
San Diego at Northwestern
IUPUI at Central Michigan
Bucknell at Akron
Marshall at Ohio
Elon at Virginia Tech
Liberty at Villanova
Harvard at Hofstra
Georgetown at Rutgers
Virginia at VCU
Mercer at Georgia Tech
Wake Forrest at Charlotte
Bethune-Cookman at FGCU
Friday, March 18
Montana State at Utah
Santa Clara at Fresno State
Maine at Quinnipiac
Temple at Drexel
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – After winning 21 games and advancing to its fourth Mid-American Conference Tournament Semifinal in the last six years, the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team was rewarded with a berth to the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), announced Monday, March 14, by the tournament selection committee. The Eagles will open the Postseason WNIT with a game Thursday, March 17, in Moraga, Calif., against Saint Mary's College University.
Playing in late March has become a regular tradition for Eastern Michigan, as the Eagles will participate in the postseason for the ninth time in the past 13 years. Prior to the 2003-04 campaign, EMU had never participated in the postseason. However, all that changed when EMU won the 2004 MAC Tournament and earned the automatic bid to the program's first NCAA Tournament. The Green and White have since followed it up with appearances in the 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2015 WNIT. EMU again returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2012 after winning the MAC Tournament and in 2014 hosted two rounds of the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI).
First-round action tips off Wednesday, March 16 and concludes Friday, March 18. Second-round games will run March 19-22, Round three goes March 23-25, quarterfinals are March 26-28, and semifinals will be played March 30-31. The championship game will be played Saturday, April 2 and will be televised live on CBS Sports Network at 3 p.m. ET. All games are hosted by participating schools.
This year's tournament features six teams from the Big Ten Conference, five from the Mid-American Conference and four each from the ACC, C-USA and West Coast Conference. Four conferences each placed three teams – American, A-10, Big East and Colonial. Other conferences represented include Big West (2), Horizon (2), Missouri Valley (2), Pac-12 (2), Summit (2), Sun Belt (2), America East (1), Atlantic Sun (1), Big 12 (1), Big Sky (1), Big South (1), Ivy (1), MAAC (1), MEAC (1), Mountain West (1), Northeast (1), OVC (1), Patriot (1), SEC (1), Southern (1), Southland (1), SWAC (1) and WAC (1).
The WNIT awards an automatic qualifying berth to each of the nation's 32 conferences. The spot goes to the team that finishes the highest in the regular-season conference standings that does not advance to the NCAA Tournament. If there is a tie, the WNIT abides by the conference tiebreaker. A team earns the automatic qualifying berth regardless of its overall record. However, to be considered for a WNIT at-large berth, a team must have an overall record of .500 or better.
The Eagles (21-11) posted a solid run to close out the regular season, winning eight of their last 11 games to earn their eighth 20-win season in the past 13 campaigns. A second-team All-MAC selection, junior guard Cha Sweeney (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) is the team's top scorer at 18.1 points per contest. Junior guard Janay Morton (Brooklyn Park, Minn.-Osseo), a third team All-MAC honoree and All-MAC Defensive team selection, ranks 14th nationally in steals (86) as well as 16th in the conference in scoring (13.2 ppg) and 11th in three-point percentage.
The Eagles are 5-8 all-time in the postseason including a pair of victories over Drake and Tulsa during their 2015 run to the WNIT "Sweet 16." In 2014, EMU knocked off Evansville in the opening round of the WBI before falling in the final moments to Illinois-Chicago.
The Gaels enter the tournament with a 24-7 (14-4 WCC) record after falling to San Francisco, 67-65, in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference, March 7. SMC was 11-4 on its home court inside McKeon Pavilion.
The EMU-SMC winner will play the winner of Texas Rio Grande Valley/TCU, March 17, at a site that will be determined later.
The Postseason WNIT is owned and produced by Triple Crown Sports, based in Fort Collins, Colo. TCS also organizes men's and women's college basketball tournaments in Cancun, and the Preseason WNIT. TCS is the leader in youth and collegiate sports and manages more than 100 amateur sporting events across the country in volleyball, fastpitch softball, baseball and basketball. With 33 years of experience in the event business, TCS is nationally-recognized as a premier tournament organization.
MAC POSTSEASON APPEARANCES SINCE 2003-04
Bowling Green 10 2005-06-07-08-09-10-11-12-13-14
Eastern Michigan 9 2004-05-06-10-11-12-14-15-16
Ball State 6 2007-09-13-14-15-16
Toledo 5 2010-11-12-13-15
Central Michigan 5 2011-12-13-14-16
Miami 4 2004-08-12-13
Akron 4 2013-14-15-16
Kent State 3 2004-10-11
Buffalo 2 2015-16
Ohio 2 2015-16
Western Michigan 2 2004-15
Wednesday, March 16
Milwaukee at Minnesota
Creighton at South Dakota
Wright State at Michigan
Alabama at Tulane
Thursday, March 17
Eastern Michigan at St. Mary's
UC Riverside at Gonzaga
Long Beach State at Oregon
UTRGV at TCU
Southern at Arkansas State
Abilene Christian at UTEP
Sacred Heart at Drake
Northern Iowa at Nebraska
Ball State at Iowa
Little Rock at Saint Louis
UT Martin at Memphis
Dayton at Western Kentucky
San Diego at Northwestern
IUPUI at Central Michigan
Bucknell at Akron
Marshall at Ohio
Elon at Virginia Tech
Liberty at Villanova
Harvard at Hofstra
Georgetown at Rutgers
Virginia at VCU
Mercer at Georgia Tech
Wake Forrest at Charlotte
Bethune-Cookman at FGCU
Friday, March 18
Montana State at Utah
Santa Clara at Fresno State
Maine at Quinnipiac
Temple at Drexel
Players Mentioned
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