Crimson Draws St. John's in First Women's NIT Appearance

The Harvard women’s basketball team will meet St. John’s on Friday, March 20 in its first Women’s National Invitational Tournament (NIT) appearance in school history. The Crimson sports a 19-9 overall record after an 11-3 mark in Ivy League play. Harvard enters the Women’s NIT having won six of its last seven games.

The Red Storm is 17-14 overall this season and went 4-12 in the Big East. It will be the first meeting between the two programs on the hardwood. The winner of Friday night’s game will face Hartford (20-11)Sunday, March 22 in Hartford, Conn.

First-round games of the Postseason WNIT will be played March 18-20. All games in the tournament are hosted by participating schools. The event concludes Saturday, April 4 with the championship. Last year, Marquette defeated Michigan State in the final.

The WNIT awards an automatic berth to each of the nation’s 31 conferences. The spot goes to the team that finishes the highest in the regular-season conference standings that does not advance to the NCAA Tournament. If there is a tie, the WNIT abides by the conference tiebreaker, or best seed into the conference tournament. To be considered for an automatic berth or at-large WNIT selection, a team must have an overall record of .500 or better.