The Missouri State women’s basketball team may have gotten knocked out of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, costing itself a shot at playing in the NCAA Tournament, but the Lady Bears are still going dancing in March.
On Sunday, Beth Cunningham’s team was chosen as one of 64 teams to compete in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament – better known as the WNIT.
To earn this honor is pretty remarkable for the program when you consider the fact that Cunningham took over as head coach last March, and inherited just five players from a roster that made the NCAA Tournament in 2022.
Through the transfer portal and veteran leadership from fifth-year senior’s Sydney Wilson and Aniya Thomas, the Lady Bears turned into a dangerously good team at the start of the new year.
From January through the MVC Tournament, MSU went 13-7, which included an eight-game winning streak.
The Lady Bears will be joined by Northern Iowa as the only other team from the MVC to participate in the WNIT. The matchups for the tournament will be announced Monday, March 12.
