NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State women's basketball team will continue its season this week as the Redbirds have been selected to participate in the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT), as announced by the tournament organizers late Monday night.
The 2021 tournament will feature 32 teams with eight teams at each of the four WNIT regional sites: Charlotte, N.C., Fort Worth, Texas, Memphis, Tenn. and Rockford, Ill. Every team is guaranteed two games, with an eight-team championship bracket and a four-team consolation bracket at each location. Round 1 play is March 19 and the Round 2 winners and consolation bracket games at each regional are on March 20. Round 3 games (the regional finals and consolation finals) are set for March 22.
The four regional champions will advance to the semifinals the following weekend in Memphis, Tenn. with the two semifinal games set for March 26 and the championship for March 28.
This marks the 13th WNIT appearance for Illinois State who is 20-18 all-time in the tournament, and the first postseason appearance for the Redbirds since the 2012-13 season when ISU advanced to the second round of the WNIT. This is also the first postseason appearance for head coach Kristen Gillespie at the NCAA DI level.
All WNIT games will be streamed by FloHoops. There will be limited player guests in attendance and tickets will not be available to purchase for the general public.
For all the latest on Illinois State women's basketball, stay tuned at GoRedbirds.com and follow the team at @RedbirdWBB (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram).
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
