Aug. 25, 2003

The University of San Diego women's basketball team has accepted an invitation to play in the 2003 Preseason Women's National Invitational Tournament. The Toreros have been matched up against defending Big West Conference Champion UC Santa Barbara for a first-round game on the road Saturday, Nov. 15 at 1:00 PM.

The field for the prestigious tournament that kicks off the women's college basketball season includes a number of teams that appeared in last season's Top 25 polls such as UCSB, Texas Tech, Rutgers, Western Kentucky, Utah, Liberty and Cincinnati. All games will be played on home campuses, which are determined after each round.

The tournament opens Nov. 14-15, with second-round games on Nov. 16-17, semifinals on Nov. 20, and the championship on Nov. 23. Seven teams that played in the NCAA Tournament last season are slated to compete in the WNIT: Texas Tech, Western Kentucky, Utah, Santa Barbara, Rutgers, Liberty and Cincinnati.

In last year's Preseason WNIT, No. 4-ranked Kansas State captured the title with an 88-66 victory over No. 14 Penn State. Kansas State went on to a 29-5 season, setting school records for victories.

WNIT First-round pairings: Texas-San Antonio at Texas Tech, Friday, Nov. 14 Rhode Island at Western Kentucky, Friday, Nov. 14 Southeast Missouri State at Utah, Friday, Nov. 14 San Diego at California-Santa Barbara, Saturday, Nov. 15 St. Peter's at Rutgers, Friday, Nov. 14 Jackson State at Mississippi, Friday, Nov. 14 Miami (Ohio) at Michigan, Saturday, Nov. 15 Liberty at Cincinnati, Friday, Nov. 14