University of Massachusets Athletics
Women’s Basketball Earns Automatic Berth To WNIT
March 12, 2023 | Women's Basketball
Minutewomen set to host UAlbany at the Mullins Center at 7 p.m.
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – After accepting an automatic berth into the 64-team Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), the University of Massachusetts women's basketball team will host the University of Albany at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 17 at the Mullins Center in Amherst.
The winner of the UMass-UAlbany first round matchup will play the winner of the Harvard-Towson game in the second round. The complete WNIT bracket may be found here.
For all UMass home WNIT home games, seating will be general admission and tickets for the first round of the tournament are $12 each. Admission is free for undergraduate students. Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.umassathletics.com/tickets.
Streaming for Friday's contest will be determined at a later date.
The Minutewomen were among 32 teams to automatically qualify for the WNIT.
Prior to the 2023 WNIT, Massachusetts competed in three NCAA Tournaments, most recently in 2022, with other appearances in 1996 and 1998. UMass also appeared in the National Women's Invitational Tournament – the precursor to what is known today as the WNIT - in 2021 and in 1995. It marks the sixth time in program history and the third consecutive year the Minutewomen are postseason bound in either the WNIT or NCAA tournaments.
Massachusetts earned the automatic bid after an impressive regular season and a run to the Atlantic 10 Championship game. The Minutewomen earned the No. 1-seed in the A-10 Championships after finishing the regular season with a 14-2 conference record and a share of the regular-season title. During the regular season, the Minutewomen posted a 12-game win streak, marking the longest in program history. UMass received a double-bye into the Quarterfinals of the A-10 Tournament and advanced to the A-10 Finals for the third straight year.
Currently, UMass holds a 26-6 overall record, tying the program's record for the most wins in history. Additionally, co-captain Sam Breen was named the A-10 Player of the Year for the second consecutive year and received an A-10 All-Conference First Team nod for the third straight season. Co-captain Sydney Taylor joined Breen on the All-Conference First Team, garnering the honor for the first time in her career, while fellow captain Ber'Nyah Mayo landed on the All-Conference Second Team, picking up her first A-10 Postseason accolade. Co-captain Destiney Philoxy was placed on the All-Defensive Team for the second straight year and Taylor also earned All-Academic honors. In the A-10 Championships, Mayo was named to the league's All-Tournament Team.
