June 30, 2009

STILLWATER, Okla. -

WNIT Bracket

Oklahoma State's women's basketball team is among the 16 squads that comprise the 2009 Preseason Women's National Invitation Tournament it was announced today.

The Cowgirls are one of 11 teams in the field that competed in postseason play in 2009, joining Arkansas-Little Rock, Bowling Green, Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia Tech, Marist, New Mexico, North Carolina A&T, Ohio State, West Virginia and Winthrop.

Coming off a 17-16 mark and a berth in the postseason WNIT, the Cowgirls will host UALR in the first round at 6 p.m. (CST) on Friday, Nov. 13 in Stillwater. The two teams met last season with the Trojans prevailing, 65-51, in Little Rock. UALR returns all five starters from a squad that recorded a school-record 26 wins in 2008-09.

The winner will move on to face the winner of the Georgia Tech-Winthrop contest on Nov. 15 or 16.

The 2009 Preseason WNIT is a three-game guarantee format involving 16 teams from 16 different conferences that were included by invitation-only. All games are hosted by participating schools. The initial round of the event will involve eight sites hosted by participating institutions. The winner's bracket will look identical to past Preseason WNIT tournaments.

First Round Winners

The eight Round One winners will continue on in traditional bracket play, with half of them hosting the other half in separate host sites. The winning teams will continue on, with separate host sites throughout the semifinals and championship. The two teams in the championship game will play four games in the tournament.

First Round Losers

The eight teams who lose their first games will be re-grouped into "Consolation bracket quads," which are two four-team pools. One team in each pool will be selected to host the other three teams. The host site will be announced after the completion of all Round 1 games. Each team in this consolation round will play two games for a total of three in the tournament. These are called Consolation Rounds 1 and 2.

Quarterfinal Round Losers (from original bracket)

Of the four quarterfinal teams that lose in that round, two teams will be selected to host one of the other quarterfinal round losers in a single game at separate sites. This game provides the third game for each of these schools. This round is Consolation Round 3.

The 2009 event will start the first Friday of the regular season (Nov. 13). Round Two will be targeted for the ensuing Sunday or Monday (Nov. 15/16), with the semifinals occurring the next Wednesday or Thursday (Nov. 18/19). The tournament championship will be scheduled for the second Sunday of the regular season (Nov. 22), nine days after the tournament opens. The Consolation Bracket Quads will be played on or around the second Friday and Saturday of the season (Nov. 20-21), seven days following the first round. Round Two losers will play on or around the second Friday or Saturday (Nov. 20/21) of the season as well, at separate sites.

First-round Preseason WNIT games

All 2008-2009 team records in parentheses

Friday, Nov. 13, 2009

Eastern Illinois (24-9) at Ohio State (29-6), 5 p.m. ET

UTEP (18-12) at Florida Gulf Coast (26-5), 7 p.m. ET

Arkansas-Little Rock (26-7) at Oklahoma State (17-16), 7 p.m. ET

Towson (17-13) at West Virginia (18-15), 7 p.m. ET

Winthrop (16-16) at Georgia Tech (22-10), 7:30 p.m. ET

Chicago State (16-13) at Bowling Green (29-5), 7:30 p.m. ET

North Carolina A&T (26-7) at Marist (29-4), 7:30 p.m. ET

Northern Colorado (12-18) at New Mexico (25-11), 9 p.m. ET

For more information, contact WNIT Director Renee Carlson at (970) 672-0557, or visit the website at www.womensnit.com.