2007 Women's National Invitation Tournament
Encyclopedia
The 2007 Women's National Invitation Tournament
(WNIT) was a single-elimination tournament
of 48 National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) Division I teams that did not participate in the 2007 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament
.
The teams were deemed the "best of the rest" from the 31 Division I conferences were joined by 17 at-large selections.
The final four of the tournament paired Wisconsin
against Western Kentucky
and Wyoming
against 2006 WNIT champion Kansas State
. Wisconsin (23–12) defeated Western Kentucky 79–72. Meanwhile, across the country, Wyoming and Kansas State played a triple-overtime thriller. The Cowgirls eventually pulled out the victory, holding Kansas State to a single point in the third overtime, and winning 89–79.
The championship game of the WNIT was played Saturday, March 31, 2007 in front of 15,462 fans at the Arena-Auditorium
in Laramie, WY (the largest crowd in Wyoming Cowgirl History). Wyoming dominated the game and won 72–56, bringing the Cowgirls their first postseason championship win. They also became the first Mountain West Conference
team to win the tournament.
NOTE: ESPN has UC-Santa Barbara winning 70-54, but Oregon advaning. Reasons for this are currently unknown. However, http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=117423503011776600 indicates, correctly, that Oregon won by the same score.
Women's National Invitation Tournament
The Women's National Invitation Tournament , formerly the National Women's Invitation Tournament, is a college basketball tournament with a preseason and postseason version played every year...
(WNIT) was a single-elimination tournament
Single-elimination tournament
A single-elimination tournament, also called a knockout, cup or sudden death tournament, is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match or bracket is immediately eliminated from winning the championship or first prize in the event...
of 48 National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA) Division I teams that did not participate in the 2007 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament
2007 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 2007 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament began on March 17, 2007 and concluded on April 3 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The Final Four consisted of Tennessee, LSU, Rutgers, and North Carolina, with Tennessee defeating Rutgers 59-46 for their seventh National Title...
.
The teams were deemed the "best of the rest" from the 31 Division I conferences were joined by 17 at-large selections.
The final four of the tournament paired Wisconsin
Wisconsin Badgers
The Wisconsin Badgers are the collegiate athletic teams from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. This NCAA Division I athletic program has teams in football, basketball, ice hockey, volleyball, soccer, cross country, tennis, swimming, wrestling, track and field, rowing, golf, and softball...
against Western Kentucky
Western Kentucky University
Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA. It was formally founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier....
and Wyoming
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
against 2006 WNIT champion Kansas State
Kansas State Wildcats women's basketball
The Kansas State Wildcats women's basketball program is the intercollegiate basketball program of the Kansas State University Wildcats. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference....
. Wisconsin (23–12) defeated Western Kentucky 79–72. Meanwhile, across the country, Wyoming and Kansas State played a triple-overtime thriller. The Cowgirls eventually pulled out the victory, holding Kansas State to a single point in the third overtime, and winning 89–79.
The championship game of the WNIT was played Saturday, March 31, 2007 in front of 15,462 fans at the Arena-Auditorium
Arena-Auditorium
Arena-Auditorium is a 15,028-seat multi-purpose arena in Laramie, Wyoming. The arena opened in 1982 and has since been the home of the University of Wyoming Cowboys basketball team, as well as home to the Cowgirls basketball team since 2003...
in Laramie, WY (the largest crowd in Wyoming Cowgirl History). Wyoming dominated the game and won 72–56, bringing the Cowgirls their first postseason championship win. They also became the first Mountain West Conference
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference , popularly known as the Mountain West, is the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS . The MWC officially began operations in July 1999...
team to win the tournament.
Region 1
(***) denotes triple overtimeNOTE: ESPN has UC-Santa Barbara winning 70-54, but Oregon advaning. Reasons for this are currently unknown. However, http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=117423503011776600 indicates, correctly, that Oregon won by the same score.