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WNIT announces field for 2019 preseason tournament

By Kim Doss

PALO ALTO, CA - FEBRUARY 08: Oregon State Guard Destiny Slocum (24) is defended by Stanford Forward Lacie Hull (24) during the women's basketball game between the Oregon State Beavers and the Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion on February 9, 2019 in Palo Alto, CA. (Photo by Cody Glenn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
PALO ALTO, CA - FEBRUARY 08: Oregon State Guard Destiny Slocum (24) is defended by Stanford Forward Lacie Hull (24) during the women's basketball game between the Oregon State Beavers and the Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion on February 9, 2019 in Palo Alto, CA. (Photo by Cody Glenn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Sixteen teams representing 16 conferences to face off in November

The 16-team field for the 2019 Preseason WNIT was announced on Thursday, featuring 12 teams who made it to the postseason in the 2018-19 season. Headliners include Oregon State and Missouri State, two teams coming off Sweet Sixteen runs in the NCAA Tournament.

The field includes five teams coming off NCAA Tournament berths and six more whose seasons concluded with appearances in the  2019 Postseason WNIT. Only one of the 16 teams did not have a winning record in 2018-19.

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In addition to Oregon State (24-7, Pac-12) and Missouri State (23-9, MVC), the competitors who appeared in the 2019 NCAA Tournament are Boise State (28-4, MWC), Portland State (25-7, Big Sky) and DePaul (25-7, Big East). The six teams who appeared in last season’s postseason WNIT include Prairie View A&M (17-14, SWAC), South Alabama (25-11, Sun Belt), Pacific (19-13, WCC), UAB (26-7, C-USA), Drexel (24-9, CAA) and Miami of Ohio (23-9, Mid-American). Davidson (17-15, A10) also saw postseason action, making an appearance in the Women’s Basketball Invitational. The other entries are Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (17-16, Southland), UC Irvine (20-11, Big West), UMKC (16-15, WAC) and Oklahoma (8-22, Big XII).

For the last three seasons, the Preseason WNIT has been won by an eventual NCAA Tournament team. Last year, it was Iowa State. The Big XII team went 25-8 and were a No. 3 seed. The Cyclones were upset in the second round of the tourney by fellow 2019 Preseason WNIT participant Missouri State.

In 2017, Louisville kicked off their Final Four season with a WNIT championship. They faced three top-25 teams in the preseason tournament, taking out No. 10 Oregon in the title game. The year before, it was Notre Dame winning as an introduction to their Elite Eight season.

The 2019 Preseason WNIT will be held in November.  The exact date has not been announced, but previous tournaments usually tipped off on the second Friday of the month. All teams are guaranteed three games, which are played on the campuses of the participants. Those match-ups and locations will be announced later this spring. The title game will be televised by CBS Sports Network.

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