Colorado Headed Back to the WNIT
March 15, 2021 | Women's Basketball
CU will take on Louisiana
BOULDER — For the first time since the 2016-17 season, the Colorado women's basketball team is headed back to the postseason. The Buffaloes were invited to the shrunk-down 32 field WNIT.
The Buffs will square off with Louisiana (16-6) in game two of the Memphis Regional on March 19. Tip is set for 1 p.m. MT. The winner of the first-round game will take on either UT Martin (20-5) or Nebraska (12-12).
"There is nothing that can replicate postseason experience, " head coach JR Payne stated. "You get a little taste of it in the Pac-12 Tournament, but if you've done relatively well through the Pac-12 season, even if you don't win the Pac-12, you think you're going to continue to play. This will be the first time where it truly is do or die. Although this WNIT setup is a little different, I think just that experience of having your back against the wall against some really good teams is good for us."
The 2021 WNIT features 32 teams this season, down from the regular 64-team format. New to this event, teams will get a minimum of two games in Rounds 1-3 with championship and consolation brackets at each site. All four regional champions will then advance to one location for Rounds 4-5.
There will be eight teams at each of the WNIT regional sites; Round 1 play is March 19, and the Round 2 winners and consolation bracket games at each regional are on March 20.
Round 3 games (the regional finals and consolation finals) are set for March 22. The WNIT will facilitate COVID testing for teams and staff throughout the event and follow local health and safety protocols.
Colorado, who finished 10-10, on the season, thrust themselves into the national spotlight this season with a 77-72 overtime win over then-No. 1 Stanford in Boulder. CU almost completed the Stanford sweep, falling a tight game to the then-No. 6 Cardinal, 62-54. CU entered the Pac-12 Tournament on a four-game winning streak, its longest streak in the conference since the 2012-13 season.
The Buffaloes hoped this would be the second consecutive postseason trip, missing out on tournament play last season due to COVID cancelations. The last time CU was in the tournament the Buffs hosted UNLV in the first round before going on the road to take on South Dakota State and then Iowa in their respective home gyms.
"I think this will have a tournament-like feel, like the Pac-12 Tournament or the NCAA Tournament," Payne added. "Everyone is getting on a plane and going somewhere. I don't know if there are going to be fans at any of the locations. That'll be weird for us. But I think it's going to feel like a postseason tournament."
Inclusion in this year's WNIT marks the first postseason tournament for any of CU's players. Mya Hollingshed, Annika Jank and Aubrey Knight, the longest-tenured Buffs, all to Boulder following CU's 2017 WNIT appearance.
"I'm excited for them to have the opportunity to play in the postseason," Payne continued. "They came here wanting to build a program and understand that it would take a lot of work, patience and effort. It's really neat to see that they have this opportunity."
Colorado and Louisiana have met once previously. The Buffs defeated the Ragin Cajuns, 73-50, back in 1993. UL went 13-1 in the Sun Belt this season. The Cajuns went on a 15-game winning streak this season, helping them secure the Sun Belt's regular-season championship.
Colorado is 14-5 all-time in the WNIT. The team's longest run came in the 2008 tournament, advancing to the semifinals.
This year's tournament will be streamed on FloHoops.com.
