UNI Women's Basketball to Host Preseason WNIT Opener

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FORT COLLINS, Colo. – UNI women's basketball will host Delaware in the first round of the 2018 Preseason WNIT tournament 8:30 p.m. CT Nov. 9.

First-round matchups for the 25^th edition of the event were announced today. The tournament begins Nov. 8.

The 16-team field includes nine teams playing in the event for the first time. The tournament features a three-game guarantee for all teams. All games are hosted by participating schools, with the championship game televised on CBS Sports Network at 3:30 p.m. CT Nov. 18.

Round 1 schedule for the 2018 Preseason WNIT (all times CT):
Thursday, Nov. 8

Yale at Northern Illinois, 6 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 9

Niagara at Iowa State, noon
Stephen F. Austin at Miami, 4 p.m.
Morgan State at Hartford, 6 p.m.
Nicholls State at Auburn, 6 p.m.
Montana State at Marquette, 7 p.m.
Texas State at New Mexico, 8 p.m.
Delaware at Northern Iowa, 8:30 p.m.

The consolation round schedule will be determined after Round 1. In the winner's bracket, the second round is set for Nov. 11, with the semifinals running Nov. 13 and Nov. 15.

This is the first time in the Preseason WNIT for nine programs: Auburn, Iowa State, Miami, Montana State, Morgan State, Niagara, Nicholls State, Texas State and Yale.

It's the second time around for Marquette and Northern Iowa, with Hartford, Northern Illinois and Stephen F. Austin playing for the third time. Delaware is in the mix for the fourth time, and this will mark the fifth WNIT for New Mexico.

Last season, the Panthers earned their eighth postseason berth in the last nine seasons after producing a 19-14 record in 2017-18. UNI also advanced to its third-straight MVC Tournament title game, falling in a close battle to Drake.

DELAWARE

2017-18 Record: 19-13 overall, 11-7 Colonial Athletic (lost to Georgetown in Round 1 of Postseason WNIT)

The Blue Hens are trending in the right direction after a rebuilding period that followed their 32-win run in 2012-13 with Elena Delle Donne, earning their first postseason berth in four years. They came close to a CAA Tournament run but lost a semifinal to Drexel in overtime. The roster's top seven scorers from last year are heading back; senior Nicole Enabosi is a force underneath in averaging 18 points and 12 rebounds per game, and junior Samone DeFreese is an effective slasher who came through with 11.3 and 7.4 rebounds per contest. This will be just the second year in Delaware for head coach Natasha Adair, who ran the show at Georgetown for three years.

ABOUT TRIPLE CROWN SPORTS

Based in Fort Collins, Colorado, Triple Crown Sports has been producing college and youth events for more than 30 years. TCS runs both the preseason and postseason WNIT basketball events and produces the men's and women's Cancun Challenge tournaments in November at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya.

Triple Crown is also powering "WNIT" concept events in D-I softball (NISC) and volleyball (NIVC), with those two events debuting in 2017. TCS youth fastpitch tournaments (including the 900-team Sparkler/Fireworks event) draw the nation's finest club programs, and hundreds of college coaches attend TCS events for recruiting purposes.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Get all the latest information on the team by following @UNIWBB on Twitter and @UNIWomensBasketball on Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at @UNIAthletics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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