Women Participate In March Madness, Host Pepperdine WNIT

With an impressive (20-9,11-5) record and a second place finish in the MWC, the BYU women’s basketball team joins March Madness with its fifth invitation to the WNIT.

The Cougars will host Pepperdine (20-11, 9-5) on Thurs. Mar. 18. The game is set to tip off at 7 p.m.

“We’re excited to be able to extend our season,” said head coach Jeff Judkins. “We’ve had a good year and would like to finish the year strong. Pepperdine is a very good team and they just lost to Gonzaga in their conference tournament. This will be a good test for both teams

BYU was one of 31 teams to receive an Automatic Berth. Three other schools from the Mountain West Conference (WY, UNM and Utah) received At-large Berths in to the 64-team field.

”There are a lot of really good teams that are participating in this tournament this year and I’m pleased that our conference is well represented,” added Judkins.

Pepperdine finished third in the West Coast Conference and lost to Gonzaga in the championship game.

The Cougars and Waves have a 1-1 series record but have not played each other since the 1983 season when both teams competed in the LBS Tournament. In that contest, BYU won 98-78 on a neutral site.

The winner of Thursday’s game advances to play the winner of the Arizona State vs. New Mexico State game that will be played Wed. Mar. 17 in Tempe.

In the WNIT, BYU has a 3-4 record and made its last appearance in 2005, losing to Gonzaga 57-71 in first round action in Spokane.

The Women’s National Invitation Tournament consists of 64 Division I women’s basketball teams who compete at participating schools including the semifinals and the championships. Every round is single elimination.

The Postseason WNIT features 32 first-round games, followed by 16 second-round games, eight third-round games, four quarterfinal games, two semifinal games and the championship.

Ticket prices for Thursday's game are as follows:

Student General Admission - $5

Adult General Admission - $6

Reserved - $7

Courtside - $20

Tickets may be purchased at the Marriott Center Ticket office or online.