Women's Basketball To Play in Preseason WNIT

The University of Hartford women’s basketball team will make its second appearance in the Preseason Women’s National Invitational Tournament in 2011, joining three top-10 participants, Baylor, Notre Dame and UCLA. The full bracket for the 16-team field will be announced in June.

The Preseason WNIT features a three-game guarantee format. The event opens November 11 with first-round games. Second-round games will be played November 13-14; semifinals will be November 16-17; and the championship is set for Sunday, November 20.  Teams that lose in the first two rounds will play consolation games on the second weekend, November 18-19. All games are hosted by participating schools.

The talent-loaded field is stacked with nine teams who played in the 2010 postseason, five in the NCAA field of 64, two in the WNIT field of 64 and two in the newly formed Women’s Basketball Invitational that consisted of 16 teams.

The Hawks return eight letterwinners and four starters after losing three seniors to graduation. The rising junior class will look to build upon a season where they provided 50 percent of the teams scoring. 

Alex Hall, 5’-7” guard, returns after being named the 2011 America East Championship Most Outstanding Player, while fellow classmate Ruthanne Doherty, 5-11 forward, earned her second postseason honor when she earned Third Team All-Conference distinction.