RAMS WILL OPEN SEASON WITH FIRST ROUND WNIT GAME AT LIBERTY
07/07/2008
RICHMOND, Va.—Coming off a historic season, the Virginia Commonwealth University women’s basketball team will open the 2008-09 campaign in the prestigious Preseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament. The official tournament field and first round pairings were released by the WNIT office Monday afternoon. VCU will open its season with a first-round match-up with in-state rival Liberty. The Rams will travel to Lynchburg for a 7:00 p.m. game with the Flames on Friday, Nov. 14.

VCU won a school-record 26 games last season while advancing to the second round of the post-season WNIT. VCU head coach Beth Cunningham returns four starters from last year’s squad. The Rams advanced to the CAA Championship for the first time in school history while establishing school records for wins, conference wins, home wins, road wins and winning percentage. Liberty, which went 28-4 last season and won its 11th Big South title in 12 years, advanced to the NCAA Tournament where they fell in the opening round at Old Dominion. Both teams are making their second Preseason WNIT appearances.

"We're really excited for the invitation and the opportunity to represent the CAA in the Preseason WNIT," Cunningham said. "It has been a prestigious tournament with some great teams in recent years. It is a great opportunity for us. It will certainly be a challenging start to our season, but to be one of the 16 teams invited is definitely an honor."

The match-up between the Rams and the Flames will be one of eight opening-round games played on the weekend of Nov. 14-15. The 16 Preseason WNIT teams include 12 squads which participated in postseason play a season ago, a list which features Liberty, Arizona State, Cleveland State, Illinois State, Indiana, Middle Tennessee State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Robert Morris, VCU, Western Carolina, and Xavier. Eight teams in the field participated in the NCAA Tournament in March.

Every team is guaranteed at least three Preseason WNIT games. The first-round winners will advance to the quarterfinals, to be played between Nov. 16-19. The victor of the VCU-Liberty tilt will be matched up with either North Carolina or Western Carolina.

North Carolina is one of three 2007-08 foes on the Rams’ side of the bracket. Ball State and Xavier are also located in VCU’s half of the draw. The Preseason WNIT championship game is slated for Nov. 23, at the home court of one of the participating teams.

The losing teams from the first-round matchups will be divided into a pair of four-team consolation brackets. The consolation games are scheduled for Nov. 21-23.

November’s opening round contest will be the 31st meeting between the schools. VCU owns a 21-9 advantage in the all-time series.

First-round Preseason WNIT games
All 2007-2008 team records in parentheses

Friday, Nov. 14, 2008
Robert Morris (23-10) at Xavier (24-9), 3 p.m. ET
Western Carolina (25-9) at North Carolina (33-3), 7 p.m. ET
VCU (26-8) at Liberty (28-4), 7 p.m. ET
Ball State (15-15) at Indiana (18-15), 7 p.m. ET
Illinois State (26-7) at Tulane (16-14), 8 p.m. ET
Cleveland State (19-14) at Arizona State (22-11), 8 p.m. ET

Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008
UC Riverside (14-16) at Oklahoma (22-9), 3 p.m. ET
Lafayette (14-16) at Middle Tennessee State (22-12), 8 p.m. ET