Women’s Basketball Still Rambling, Make First Ever WNIT

Loyola women’s basketball saw their first successful Selection Sunday after being selected as an at-large bid for the 48 team Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT). It marks the first postseason for the Ramblers since the 2020-21 season where the Ramblers made their sole appearance at the Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI). 

The Ramblers will be looking for better results in this year’s tournament after placing seventh out of eight teams at the WBI in 2021. Discontinued after the 2023 tournament, the WBI doesn’t exist anymore, leaving behind the NCAA Tournament, Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament and WNIT. 

Head coach Allison Guth brings postseason experience to the team after leading Yale University to the WBI title in 2018 while she was head coach for the Bulldogs for their only championship in school history. 

A total of seven teams made tournament play from the Atlantic 10 (A10), headlined by conference champion University of Rhode Island and Richmond University, both as 11 seeds in women’s March Madness. Rhode Island notably knocked Loyola out of the A10 conference tournament in a 71-64 loss March 6.

After tying with the Rams for the regular season crown in the A10, George Mason University will be the sole A10 competitor at the WBIT, entering as a three seed. 

Loyola enters the WNIT as one of four teams from the conference, with George Washington University, La Salle University and St. Bonaventure University all making the tournament, with La Salle earning the only bye.

The first round tips off March 19-21, with the Ramblers competing as one of two matches on March 21. Loyola will face Norfolk State University at 1 p.m. in Norfolk, Va.. If Loyola wins on the road, they will then face Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) between March 22-24, with the date, time and location yet to be revealed. 

The Ramblers have a tall task ahead of them as they head east to face the Spartans. Norfolk State enters the WNIT after losing in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) tournament final to Howard University 53-46, completing a season record of 18-14. The loss ended the Spartans three year streak as MEAC conference champions.

In terms of common opponents between the two, the only foe they shared was the University of Maryland Eastern Shore — who also made the WNIT — where the Ramblers lost a 70-67 home game. Norfolk State also lost their first matchup against UMES, but bounced back, finishing with a 2-1 record against the Hawks on the season, most recently defeating them 60-51 in the MEAC semifinals.

If Loyola can defeat the Spartans, they will then face the 16-15 FGCU, who finished as the fifth seed in the Atlantic Sun Conference before falling to Stetson University 70-63 in the quarterfinals. FGCU went 0-2 against the A10 this season, losing to both George Mason and Davidson College. 

If victorious in the first two rounds, the Ramblers would move on to the Super 16 March 25-27, the Great 8 March 28-30, the Fab 4 March 31-April 1 and finally the Championship April 4 at 2 p.m. central time. 

All times and locations of the scheduled rounds are subject to change depending on the outcomes in each round, with the university that bids or donates the most money to the tournament getting to host each game. Sources say it costs $6,500 to guarantee hosting a first round matchup and $7,500 to host a second round game, but the WNIT webpage has been taken down.