July 17, 2012
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa women’s basketball team will face Northern Illinois in the first round of the 2012 Preseason Women’s National Invitation (WNIT) Tournament on Friday, Nov. 9. The first round matchup will take place in Carver-Hawkeye Arena at Noon.
Northern Illinois finished last season with a 14-17 record under second-year head coach Kathi Bennett, who previously served as the head coach at Indiana and as an assistant coach at Wisconsin. The Huskies return two starters in Amanda Corral and Jenna Thorp from last year’s squad. Corral was Northern Illinois’ second-leading scorer with 10 points per contest and started all 31 games. Thorp played in 30 games with 20 starts and averaged 4.3 points and 3.8 rebounds. Eight of Northern Illinois’ 11 players are underclassmen.
The Preseason WNIT features a three-game guarantee format. The event opens Nov. 9 with first round games. Second round games will be played Nov. 11 and sites will be announced following the first round results. Semifinals will be Nov. 14-15 and the championship is set for Sunday, Nov. 18. Teams that lose in the first two rounds will play consolation games on the second weekend (Nov. 16-17).
The winner of the Iowa vs. Northern Illinois contest will face the winner of Illinois State and Morehead State in the second round. Middle Tennessee State, Kennesaw State, Memphis and Grambling State round out Iowa’s side of the bracket. North Carolina, Davidson, Duquesne, Liberty, Georgetown, Sacred Heart, Delaware and Sam Houston State are on the opposite side of the bracket.