The University of Florida women’s basketball
team will compete in the postseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament after
earning an at-large berth into the 64-team field revealed late Monday evening.
The Gators (18-14) play Florida International (19-12) in the first round on Thur., March 21 in Miami, Fla., with the start time and ticket information to be announced Tuesday.
Monday’s announcement placed Florida in a postseason tournament for the 19th time in the last 21 years, including all six seasons under head coach Amanda Butler, who became the first-ever Gator coach to guide the program to a postseason appearance in each of their first four years.
The Gators (18-14) play Florida International (19-12) in the first round on Thur., March 21 in Miami, Fla., with the start time and ticket information to be announced Tuesday.
Monday’s announcement placed Florida in a postseason tournament for the 19th time in the last 21 years, including all six seasons under head coach Amanda Butler, who became the first-ever Gator coach to guide the program to a postseason appearance in each of their first four years.
Florida, which will be making its 20th
postseason appearance in program history, will be appearing in the WNIT for the
seventh time since the event’s inception in 1998, competing in 2000, 2005,
2008, 2010 and 2011.
The Gators also made an appearance in 1985 in
the NWIT, which is no longer contested, reaching the national final.
The Panthers finished third in the Sun Belt
Conference regular season standings and advanced to the semifinals of the
conference tournament where they fell to eventual champion Middle Tennessee,
68-59.
FIU Junior Jerica Coley is a two-time Sun
Belt Conference Player of the Year, having amassed over 2,000 career points and
leads the country in scoring with 25.9 points per game.
Florida
leads the all-time series against Florida International, 4-2, with the Panthers
holding a 2-1 record in games played on their home court. The last time the two
teams met was on Nov. 29, 2009, when the Gators earned the 71-60 victory in the
FIU Thanksgiving Classic.
The 2013 WNIT field includes 31 teams that earned an automatic berth and 33 that received an at-large bid. All games are hosted by a participating school. First round games will be played from March 20-22
The event culminates Saturday, April 6 with
the championship game, which will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network. All
games are hosted by participating schools.
