ACU Hosts Northwestern State at 6 p.m. Thursday to Open Postseason WNIT
3/17/2025 12:54:00 PM | Women's Basketball
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Abilene Christian women's basketball will open the 27th annual Postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament against Northwestern State, the tournament announced Monday afternoon. The Wildcats will host the Lady Demons at 6 p.m. Thursday at Moody Coliseum.
The winner of Thursday's matchup will take on Central Arkansas in the second round of the tournament from March 23-25.
"We're very grateful for the opportunity to practice a few more days, to keep this team intact a few more days and just put our best foot forward," ACU head coach Julie Goodenough said. "You have to play your best basketball in March, for sure, if you want to continue playing. Our goal is, with each practice opportunity we have this week, getting ready for the first round of the WNIT. We need to be sharp, we need to put the team first, we need to be the best version of ourselves and get ready for this first matchup."
ACU competed against Northwestern State in the Southland Conference from 2013-14 to 2020-21, developing a 6-2 record in the series. The Wildcats have captured wins in the last six meetings after the Lady Demons took the first two matchups. The programs last met on Feb. 5, 2020, when ACU grabbed an 84-69 victory in Abilene, where it is 4-0 versus Northwestern State.
The Wildcats are making their fifth appearance in a postseason tournament since reaching the Division I ranks in 2013. They last appeared in the Women's Basketball Invitational in 2021.
ACU has made the WNIT twice, building a 1-2 record. In the Wildcats' previous trip to the WNIT in 2017, they opened the tournament with a 66-56 win over Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla.
The Lady Demons are making their first postseason appearance since the 2015-16 season, doubling as their last winning campaign until this year. Northwestern State is 16-15 and went 12-8 in conference play, finishing fifth in the Southland under fifth-year head coach Anna Nimz.
It marks the Lady Demons' fifth appearance in the WNIT but their first since 1999. They're 6-4 in their last four trips to the tournament, making the third round on three occasions.
ACU is 20-12 following a 9-7 showing in the Western Athletic Conference, marking its most overall wins, best overall winning percentage and best conference winning percentage since the 2019-20 campaign.
The Wildcats and the Lady Demons earned two of 37 at-large berths in the 48-team field, with 11 programs automatically qualifying as the highest regular-season finishers in their conference that did not receive a bid into the NCAA Tournament or WBIT.
WNIT Bracket
The winner of Thursday's matchup will take on Central Arkansas in the second round of the tournament from March 23-25.
"We're very grateful for the opportunity to practice a few more days, to keep this team intact a few more days and just put our best foot forward," ACU head coach Julie Goodenough said. "You have to play your best basketball in March, for sure, if you want to continue playing. Our goal is, with each practice opportunity we have this week, getting ready for the first round of the WNIT. We need to be sharp, we need to put the team first, we need to be the best version of ourselves and get ready for this first matchup."
ACU competed against Northwestern State in the Southland Conference from 2013-14 to 2020-21, developing a 6-2 record in the series. The Wildcats have captured wins in the last six meetings after the Lady Demons took the first two matchups. The programs last met on Feb. 5, 2020, when ACU grabbed an 84-69 victory in Abilene, where it is 4-0 versus Northwestern State.
The Wildcats are making their fifth appearance in a postseason tournament since reaching the Division I ranks in 2013. They last appeared in the Women's Basketball Invitational in 2021.
ACU has made the WNIT twice, building a 1-2 record. In the Wildcats' previous trip to the WNIT in 2017, they opened the tournament with a 66-56 win over Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla.
The Lady Demons are making their first postseason appearance since the 2015-16 season, doubling as their last winning campaign until this year. Northwestern State is 16-15 and went 12-8 in conference play, finishing fifth in the Southland under fifth-year head coach Anna Nimz.
It marks the Lady Demons' fifth appearance in the WNIT but their first since 1999. They're 6-4 in their last four trips to the tournament, making the third round on three occasions.
ACU is 20-12 following a 9-7 showing in the Western Athletic Conference, marking its most overall wins, best overall winning percentage and best conference winning percentage since the 2019-20 campaign.
The Wildcats and the Lady Demons earned two of 37 at-large berths in the 48-team field, with 11 programs automatically qualifying as the highest regular-season finishers in their conference that did not receive a bid into the NCAA Tournament or WBIT.
WNIT Bracket
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