MVC regular-season champion Illinois State and tournament runner-up Creighton are part of the 48-team field announced today for the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.  Illinois State received an automatic berth into the field as the highest-finishing team not included in the NCAA field.  Creighton received one of 17 at-large bids into the tournament after a run to the State Farm MVC Tournament title game.

Creighton will open play on Saturday, March 21, at home against UC Riverside, with the winner advancing to face Kansas. 

Illinois State earned an opening round bye and will host the winner of Thursday’s Southern Methodist and Louisiana Tech game.

WNIT Release

Monday, March 16, 2009 – The 48-team field of the Postseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament was announced tonight.

The WNIT kicks off postseason action Wednesday with first-round games.   All games are held on the campuses of participating schools.  While 32 teams will play in the first round, 16 teams received a bye and will begin their tournament with a second-round game.  The Postseason WNIT features 16 first-round games, followed by 16 second-round games, eight third-round games, four quarterfinal games, two semifinal games and the championship.  The WNIT championship game will begin at 2 p.m. ET Saturday, April 4, and will be hosted by one of the two final participating schools.

The WNIT awards an automatic berth to each of the nation’s 31 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. To be considered for a WNIT automatic or at-large berth, a team must have an overall record of .500 or better.

Game times will be announced Tuesday, March 17, by the WNIT. For more information, visit the website at www.womensnit.com

Here are the first-round pairings:

Wednesday, March 18

Southern at New Mexico

Canisius at Syracuse

Chattanooga at Kentucky

Thursday, March 19

Portland at Portland State

Butler at Duquesne

SMU at La Tech

Dayton at Oakland

Central Connecticut State at Boston University

Coppin State at West Virginia

George Washington at Florida Gulf Coast

Friday, March 20

Harvard at St. John’s

Winthrop at Georgetown

American at James Madison

Murray State at Arkansas-Little Rock

Saturday, March 21

UT Arlington at Oklahoma State

UC Riverside at Creighton

Here are the 48 teams in the tournament:

Automatic Berths with team record

American (Patriot) (19-11)

Arkansas (SEC) (17-13)

Arkansas-Little Rock (Sun Belt) (26-6)

Boston University (America East) (17-13)

Boston College (ACC) (20-11)

Bowling Green (MAC) (28-4)

Butler (Horizon) (19-11)

Canisius (Metro Atlantic) (24-8)

Central Connecticut State (Northeast) (18-13)

Chattanooga (Southern) (22-9)

Coppin State (MEAC) (14-14)

Florida Gulf Coast (Atlantic Sun) (25-4)

Harvard (Ivy) (19-9)

Illinois State (Missouri Valley) (24-7)

Indiana (Big 10) (19-10)

James Madison (Colonial) (23-9)

Kansas (B12) (18-13)

La Tech (WAC) (20-12)

Murray State (Ohio Valley) (22-8)

New Mexico (Mountain West) (22-10)

Oakland (Summit) (26-6)

Oregon State (Pac 10) (19-11)

Portland (West Coast) (17-3)

Portland State (Big Sky) (22-9)

Richmond (A10) (23-9)

SMU (Conference USA) (20-11)

South Florida (Big East) (22-10)

Southern (SWAC) (16-13)

UC Riverside (Big West) (19-11)

UT Arlington (Southland) (22-10)

Winthrop (Big South) (16-15)

At-large Berths with team record

Creighton (Missouri Valley) (21-11)

Dayton (Atlantic 10) (20-13)

Duquesne (Atlantic 10) (20-11)

George Washington (Atlantic 10) (17-13)

Georgetown (Big East) (17-13)

Hartford (America East) (20-11)

Kentucky (SEC) (15-15)

Marquette (Big East) (16-15)

Mississippi (SEC) (17-14)

Nebraska (Big 12) (15-15)

Oklahoma State (Big 12) (16-15)

St. Bonaventure (Atlantic 10) (21-10)

St. John’s (Big East) (17-14)

Syracuse (Big East) (16-14)

Wake Forest (ACC) (19-11)

West Virginia (Big East) (17-14)

Wisconsin (Big 10) (18-13)