March 18, 2009

WNIT Tournament Central | WNIT Bracket | Gametracker | Postseason Guide

DAYTON, Ohio - The University of Dayton women's basketball team (20-13) will head to Rochester, Michigan to face the Oakland Grizzlies in the first round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament Thursday, Mar. 19. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. ET. Admission is free and fans can also follow the action with Gametracker at www.DaytonFlyers.com.

The Flyers received an at-large berth to the 48-team tournament. It will be Dayton's second-straight appearance in the WNIT and the team's third-ever in program history.

Joining UD in the postseason are seven other teams from the 14-team Atlantic 10 Conference. Charlotte, Xavier, and Temple earned spots in the NCAA Tournament and Richmond, Duquesne, George Washington, and St. Bonaventure captured berths in the WNIT. The A-10 has never had more than five teams compete in the women's postseason tournaments since the league began postseason play in 1982-83.

Dayton is in the midst of one of its best seasons in program history. The Dayton Flyers' 20-13 record is the second-best since turning Division I. The team's success is due in part to a young squad featuring six freshmen, three of whom start and two of whom are the top two options off the bench.

The team is led by a trio of players in double figures including A-10 Rookie of the Year Justine Raterman who leads the team with 13.2 points per game. Conference third team selection Kristin Daugherty and junior Kendel Ross also contribute to the offense with 12.5 and 10.3 points per game, respectively.

SCOUTING OAKLAND
The Grizzlies are in the midst of the most successful season in the program's Division I era with 26 wins (26-6) and a 16-2 mark in the Summit League. Oakland is coming off a 79-69 loss to No. 14 South Dakota State in the Summit League Championship game.

OU is led by senior Jessica Pike and junior Melissa Jeltema. Pike, a conference first team selection, averages 15.5 points per game and 3.2 rebounds per contest for the team. She ranks fifth nationally in free throw percentage (.898).

Second-team pick Melissa Jeltema has tallied 14 double-doubles on the season for OU. She is second on the team in scoring (13.9 ppg) and leads in rebounding (8.5 rpg).

The team is coached by Beckie Francis who is in her ninth season as head coach at Oakland. Francis boasts a 170-98 record with the Grizzlies. She has been coaching for 12 years and holds a 274-376 career record.

SERIES STUFF
Thursday marks only the second meeting between the two schools. The last meeting took place Mar. 12, 1983 in the NCAA Division II Tournament. Dayton edged past Oakland 73-72.

NEXT UP
The winner of Thursday's WNIT first round game will head to Bloomington, Indiana to face Indiana in the second round on Sunday, March 22. Game time is set for 2 p.m. ET.