Troy Women Draw Oregon State in NCAA First Round
TROY, Alabama – Troy women's basketball, the 2016 Sun Belt Tournament Champions, learned on Monday night that they will face Oregon State in the NCAA First Round. The Trojans earned a 15-seed in the Dallas Region and will face the 2-seed Oregon State on Friday at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Ore. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. CT in a game that will air on ESPN2.
The Trojans and Beavers will be joined in Corvallis by 7-seed Oklahoma State and 10-seed St. Bonaventure. The winner of each first round game will advance to Sunday's second round game with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line.
Ticket information will be announced on Tuesday.
The Trojans won the Sun Belt championship game on Saturday night, knocking off Little Rock, 61-60, at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. It was the first Sun Belt championship for the Trojans, who will be making their second NCAA tournament appearance, and the first since 1997.
Troy, under fourth-year head coach Chanda Rigby, has the nation's sixth best scoring offense at 81.8 points per game. The Trojans are led by their lone senior, Sun Belt Championships MVP Ashley Beverly Kelley, who averages 20.3 points per game.
Beverly Kelley made the eventual game-winner with 20 seconds remaining in Saturday night's title game. The shot was set up by ArJae' Saunders steal on the previous possession, and it was held up by Caitlyn Ramirez's last-second block of Little Rock's attempt at a game-winner. Beverly Kelley, Saunders and Ramirez were all named to the Sun Belt Championships All-Tournament team.
The Trojans have now won eight straight games, and 10 of their last 11 after a mid-season six-game losing skid. Troy (20-12) has also posted back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in program history.
Oregon State (28-4) won the Pac-12 regular season and tournament titles and allow just 51.3 points per game to rank seventh in the NCAA.
For more information, and for full coverage of the Trojans' second trip to the NCAA Championships, visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also follow the team on Twitter and Instagram at @TroyTrojansWBB, or follow Troy Athletics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat.
Little Rock Earns At-Large Bid to WNIT
LITTLE ROCK – The Little Rock women's basketball team has at least one more game to play this year.
The Trojans were selected as an at-large team for the Women's NIT on Monday night and will play an opponent still to be determined. The Trojans' opponent, game location, time and date will be announced later on Monday night.
Little Rock will be making its fourth appearance in the WNIT and its first since 2013 when it played at Pacific. The Trojans are 0-3 lifetime in WNIT appearances after losing at Southern Miss in 2008 and at home against Murray State in 2009.
The Trojans are coming off a Sun Belt Tournament that saw them earn the No. 2 seed and make it to the championship game before being defeated by Troy. Little Rock began the year 5-11 before winning its next 15 games to finish the regular season and Sun Belt Tournament with a 20-12 overall record.
Little Rock's destination, opponent, game date and time will follow later Monday night.
Arkansas State to Continue Season in WNIT
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Cajuns Accept Bid to WBI; Host Northwestern St. Wednesday
LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's basketball team (21-10) announced Monday night that it has accepted an invitation to compete in the seventh annual Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) and will host Southland Conference member Northwestern State on Wednesday in a 5 p.m. contest at the Cajundome.
The defending WBI Tournament Champions will be making their third postseason appearance in program history.
The Ragin' Cajuns are the No. 1-seed on their side of the bracket. Louisiana is the lone representative from the Sun Belt Conference.
Northwestern State (19-11), the No. 8 seed on their side of the bracket, fell in the Southland Conference Tournament semifinals to Sam Houston State by a 78-71 final on Saturday, Feb. 12.
The WBI is a four-round, 16-team, single-elimination bracketed tournament. All games are held at campus sites. The quarterfinals will be held on either March 19 or 20. The semifinals are scheduled for March 23 or 24. The WBI Championship Game is slated for either March 26 or 27.