by staff–13 Mar ’18
The Wyoming women’s basketball team will continue its season after receiving an invitation to the 2018 Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) on Monday evening. Wyoming will host the New Mexico State Aggies, on Thursday, March 15, in a WNIT First Round Game. The game time is set for 6:30 p.m. MT.
“I am happy for our players and excited to be in the WNIT field,” head coach Joe Legerski said. “This is a great opportunity for our team and the challenge will be tremendous. To be able to host a game, speaks volumes of our administration and fan base.”
The Cowgirls capped off the year with a 21-10 overall record and a 13-5 mark in the MW to place third in the league. The 13-victories tied for the most conference wins in program history and it was the ninth time under head coach Joe Legerski with 20-plus wins in a season. Three members of the team were recently recognized as the Mountain West announced the 2018 All-Conference Team, while Legerski was selected the 2018 Coach of the Year by his peers. Senior Liv Roberts was named Mountain West Conference Player of the Year and to the All-MW Team while junior Marta Gomez was selected as the Sixth Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. Junior Bailee Cotton earned a spot on the league’s All-Defensive Team.
This year’s WNIT appearance by the Cowgirls will mark the eighth postseason tournament berth in Legerski’s 15 seasons at Wyoming. UW will be playing in the WNIT for the seventh time during Legerski’s tenure. Last season, the Cowgirls defeated Seattle, 68-52, before falling in overtime 68-67 to Washington State. Prior to that, the team advanced to the Second Round in 2006, won the 2007 WNIT title, moved in to the Third Round in 2010 and 2011 and First Round play in 2013. Wyoming also earned the schools’ first-ever bid to the NCAA Women’s Tournament in 2008.
Tickets will go on sale at the Wyoming Athletic Ticket Office starting at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday morning. Tickets are priced at $13/adult & $9/youth, with limited courtside seats also available for $25. Tickets can be purchased online, over the phone at 307-766-7220 or in person 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Wyoming Athletic Ticket Office.
Season ticket holders will have until (24 hours prior to game – 5 p.m. on Wednesday) to claim their regular-season seats for this post-season event. Tickets may be purchased by calling or visiting the ticket office. Any unclaimed season ticket holder seats will be released to the public at 9 a.m. (the day of the game).
Student tickets will also be available for $5/ticket. Students would need to show their WYO Wild Bunch App or a valid student ID to purchase. Students can purchase these tickets in person at the Wyoming Athletic Ticket Office.
Fans who have a Cowgirl Basketball season parking pass may use that pass for parking at the game.
The WNIT committee selected 64 teams for its 2018 Postseason WNIT. The field consisted of 32 automatic berths – one from each conference – and 32 at-large teams. The intent of the WNIT Selection Committee is to select the 32 best available at-large teams in the nation, regardless of conference or geographical location. First Round games will be played over a three-day period Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, March 14-16. The entire schedule for this year’s WNIT is as follows:
Round 1 – March 14-16
Round 2 – March 17-20
Round 3 – March 21-23
Round 4 – March 24-26
Semifinals – March 28-29
Championship – Saturday, March 31, 3 p.m. ET
