UB women to play West Virginia in WNIT

The UB women's basketball team has been invited to the Women's National Invitation Tournament, its second trip to a postseason tournament in program history and first ever to the WNIT. The Bulls will travel to West Virginia to face the Mountaineers on Thursday.

“I am thrilled to continue to take steps in growing our women’s basketball program,” said third-year head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. “I have been blessed with some terrific, hard-working coaches, incredible student-athletes and a relentless administration. Our vision is to grow this athletic department to new-found heights. I am grateful to Danny White for this opportunity.”

In the hunt for their first 20-win season in UB’s Mid-American Conference era, the Bulls enter the tournament with an overall record of 19-12. UB, led by All-MAC Second-Team selection and MAC All-Tournament Team honoree Kristen Sharkey, won four of its last five games to earn a spot in the MAC semifinals for just the second time in program history.

“We’re excited to play a great program from the Big 12 in West Virginia,” Legette-Jack said. “Let’s go Bulls!”

The Mountaineers enter the tournament with an overall record of 18-14 after a 7-11 showing in the Big 12. They picked up a 59-40 first-round win over Texas Tech in the Big 12 Tournament before falling to Oklahoma, 67-55, in the quarterfinals. WVU won nine of its first 10 games this season.

Though they have never faced one another, the Bulls and Mountaineers share a common opponent from the regular season in St. Francis (PA). UB defeated the Red Flash, 88-80, on Nov. 18, while WVU blanked St. Francis, 101-46, on Dec. 29.

The winner of UB-WVU game will face the winner of Drexel and Hampton in the second round, to be played March 21-24.

The Bulls, who are joined in the WNIT by five other MAC schools, are 6-4 on the season against the WNIT field. UB has a 2-1 record against Western Michigan, went 1-0 against Ball State and Eastern Michigan, split with Akron and Toledo, and fell to Tulsa.

In its 18th year, the WNIT is a 64-team, single-elimination tournament. First-round action tips off on March 18 and concludes on March 20. Second-round games take place March 21-24, round three March 25-27, quarterfinals March 28-30 and semifinals April 1-2. The championship game, to be played on April 4, will be televised on the CBS Sports Network. All games are hosted by participating schools.

The game will air live on ESPN 1520 AM with Sloane Martin on the call.