UC Riverside Heads To Midwest For WNIT Contest

Files associated with this release:
2009 WNIT Bracket
Week 19 WBB Release

UC Riverside is making its first-ever appearance in the WNIT.

UC Riverside is set to compete in the postseason for the third time in four years with its berth into the 2009 Women’s NIT.  The Highlanders, who earned the conference’s automatic qualifier after placing second in the Big West  with a 14-2 mark, visits Creighton Saturday, March 21 in the first round of the WNIT.   After particpating in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament in 2006 and 2007, the Highlanders are making their first-ever appearance in the WNIT.  

The winner of the Creighton-UC Riverside game will head to Kansas for a Monday, March 23 meeting with the Jayhawks. The Jayhawks (18-13) are one of 16 teams that received a first-round bye in the WNIT.
  
After a 4-8 start to the season, UC Riverside is 15-3 in its last 18 games.  Paced by 2008-09 Big West Player of the Year Kemie Nkele, the Highlanders own a 19-11 overall mark that includes a school-best 13-game win streak and their first win over a ranked opponent (then-ranked No. 16 Vanderbilt).  Nkele holds a conference-high 18.4 scoring average and the second-best rebound average at 8.1.  A veteran team that features eight seniors, UC Riverside has a trio of players that reached the 1,000-point milestone during their Highlander career - Nkele (2,044), Seyram Gbewonyo (1,416) and Roney Friend (1,080).  
   
Creighton finished the season with a 21-11 record and a 14-4 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference. This is the team’s seventh appearance in the WNIT and its fifth in the last seven seasons.
   
The WNIT’s 48-team field consists of 31 teams who earned an automatic spot via their high finish in conference, while 17 teams were chosen at-large by the WNIT Selection Committee.