Buffs In WNIT, Host Second Round Monday

BOULDER ? The University of Colorado has been selected to participate in the 2008 Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) and will host a second round game on Monday, March 24, at the Coors Events/Conference Center.

Colorado received the automatic bid out of the Big 12 Conference and was one of 16 teams to gain a first round bye in the 48-team tournament. The Buffaloes will entertain either Gonzaga University or the University of California-Davis on Monday at 7 p.m. MDT.

Gonzaga, 24-8 overall, was the regular season West Coast Conference champion at 13-1 and placed second in its league tournament. UC Davis, 19-11 overall and in its first full season as an NCAA Division I school,  was the Big West Conference runner up and makes its first NCAA I postseason appearance. Gonzaga will host UC-Davis on Thursday, March 20, in Spokane, Wash.

CU received the Big 12's automatic bid by virtue of being the highest ranked team in the conference standings not to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Tickets for Monday's WNIT second round game are available through the CU Athletic Ticket Office and online.

"Our staff and players are excited about the invitation," CU head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller said. "This is a great step in process of what we are trying to accomplish here at Colorado and we look forward to playing at home and generating a lot of fan support. We just finished playing in the toughest conference in the nation and we feel we are battle tested for postseason."

Colorado, 16-14 overall, will make its 18th postseason appearance and first since 2004 when the Buffs advanced to the NCAA Tournament. This will be CU's second trip to the postseason WNIT, the other coming in 1999 when the Buffaloes defeated BYU 70-53 in a first round game in Boulder before falling to Drake 82-66 in the second round at the Coors Events Center.

Click on the link below for the 2008 WNIT Postseason Bracket.