Middle Tennessee will be participating in postseason basketball for the 16th consecutive season after gaining an at-large berth into the 2019 WNIT Monday night.
Not only were the Lady Raiders (22-10) selected, but they also were rewarded with a home game and will play host to IUPUI (20-11) Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis is an at-large selection from the Horizon League. This will be the first meeting between the teams.
"I'm glad we have the chance to continue on because we have played well here at the end of the season," said Lady Raider Head Coach Rick Insell, who has guided Middle Tennessee into the postseason in each of his 14 seasons (nine NCAA Tournaments, five WNITs).
"The WNIT is not the NCAA Tournament but it is the next best thing and there are some outstanding teams in the tournament," Insell said. "We appreciate the opportunity to extend our season and represent Conference USA."
The field of 64, which includes 41 teams with 20-plus wins, was announced Monday and includes five C-USA teams which is tied with the Big East Conference for most teams in the 22nd annual postseason event. UAB was C-USA's automatic qualifier, while Charlotte, Old Dominion and WKU joined Middle Tennessee as at-large selections.
Middle Tennessee is making its seventh appearance in the WNIT all-time. The Lady Raiders reached the national quarterfinals of the event in 2015.
