2013 WBI bracket
MILWAUKEE - Northern Kentucky University has received a postseason berth to participate in the Women's Basketball Invitational, and the Norse will host the College of Charleston in a first-round game on March 20 at 7 p.m. in The Bank of Kentucky Center. Admission is only $1 and NKU students receive free admission by displaying their All Card.
Northern Kentucky posted a 15-12 record in its first season of Division I competition to earn the berth to the WBI, a 16-team tournament entering its fourth year. The Norse finished 12-6 in the Atlantic Sun Conference and won nine of their last 11 games to earn the postseason berth.
Northern Kentucky also closed the regular season with a four-game winning streak. The Norse also defeated a pair of A-Sun teams (Stetson and Mercer) that won at least 20 games this season.
“This is a great opportunity for our program and it's very exciting to play in a postseason tournament, especially for our four seniors,” Northern Kentucky head coach
Dawn Plitzuweit said. “Our players have earned it, and it's really a great accomplishment given this is our first year as a Division I program.
“We know that the College of Charleston has a good team, and they have won seven of their last 10 games. This is going to be a major challenge for us, and it's really exciting to play at home in the first-ever Division I postseason game for Northern Kentucky University women's basketball.”
College of Charleston enters the WBI with a 15-15 overall record. The Cougars finished 11-9 in the Southern Conference.
Ticket information for Wednesday's Northern Kentucky/College of Charleston game will be available Tuesday at www.nkunorse.com. This will mark the first meeting between the two programs.
The Northern Kentucky/College of Charleston winner will face either Detroit or Belmont in the second round Saturday or Sunday. Northern Kentucky is the No. 4 seed in the East Region bracket, while the College of Charleston is the No. 5 seed.
Detroit is the No. 1 seed in the East Region, while Belmont is No. 8.
Past champions of the WBI include Appalachian State (2010), Alabama-Birmingham (2011) and Minnesota (2012).
The official dates for the WBI are set according to the event organizer, Sport Tours International, Inc. Eight first-round games will take place March 20 and 21. The eight winners will advance to the second-round games, which will take place the weekend of March 23-24.
The WBI semifinals will be played March 27 or 28 with the 2013 WBI championship game set for March 30 or 31. All games take place on campus sites.
Each official game date and start time will be determined by arena availabilities.
