Saint Louis will play Kansas State of the Big 12 Conference in a Women’s National Invitation Tournament first-round game Thursday, March 15, at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas. Game time will be announced Tuesday.
The SLU-Kansas State winner plays the winner of the Utah-UNLV game, also scheduled for Thursday in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the second round. The location, date and time for that game will be announced following the completion of play Thursday night.
One of three Big 12 teams (TCU, West Virginia) to make the WNIT field, Kansas State (16-15) is making a fourth consecutive postseason appearance. The Wildcats reached the NCAA Tournament second round the past two seasons and advanced to the 2015 WNIT second round.
Kansas State tied Iowa State for seventh place in the Big 12 with a 7-11 league record. The Wildcats fell to regular-season and tournament champion Baylor in the Big 12 Championship quarterfinals after defeating Kansas in the first round. K-State features junior guard Kayla Goth, a second-team All-Conference choice, and sophomore forward Peyton Williams, who made the Big 12 honorable mention list.
Saint Louis, making its fourth WNIT appearance overall and third in as many seasons, is 17-15. The Billikens finished seventh (9-7) in the Atlantic 10 Conference and reached the A-10 Championship semifinals, where they fell to Saint Joseph’s. Senior point guard Jackie Kemph was selected to the All-Conference first team for a third consecutive season.
Saint Louis reached the second round of the 2017 WNIT, defeating IUPUI at home and falling at Indiana. The Billikens played three home games and advanced to the third round in 2016, topping Little Rock and Ball State before being eliminated by Western Kentucky in overtime.
The Wildcats own a 2-0 series lead over the Billikens, winning in Manhattan in the 1991-92 and 2003-04 seasons.
Joining Saint Louis from the Atlantic 10 are Duquesne, Fordham, George Mason and Saint Joseph’s. The A-10 has the most participants in the 64-team field.
In other first-round games involving A-10 teams, Saint Joseph’s is at Seton Hall on Wednesday; Duquesne is at Miami (Ohio) on Thursday; Fordham hosts Harvard on Friday; and George Mason hosts Stephen F. Austin on Friday.
