Fourth Estate/Mitchell Richtmyre
The Patriots will travel to play Penn State in the opening round
BY GABRIEL KING, SPORTS EDITOR
Mason women’s basketball earned a bid to the 2024 Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT), the NCAA announced Sunday. The Patriots (23-7, 14-4 Atlantic 10) will travel to State College, Pa. to play top-seeded Penn State (19-12, 9-9 Big Ten) on Thursday, Mar. 21.
The inaugural WBIT features a 32-team field, with the higher seeds hosting the first three rounds of the tournament. The semifinals and championship game will be held in Indianapolis at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Apr. 1 and 3.
As the first four teams left out of the NCAA Tournament, Miami, Washington State, Villanova and Penn State earned the top seeds and home-court advantage until the semifinals. Miami declined the WBIT invitation, allowing James Madison to take their spot as the fourth top seed.
Along with Mason, Saint Joseph’s and VCU will represent the A-10 in the WBIT. With Richmond earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament, the top four teams in the A-10 each earned bids to postseason tournaments.
This is Mason’s first postseason appearance since the 2018 Women’s National Invitation Tournament, when they defeated Stephen F. Austin before falling to eventual runner-up Virginia Tech in the second round. Penn State is also making their first postseason appearance since the 2018 WNIT.
After tying the program record for regular season wins, the Patriots will be looking for their second postseason win in program history.
Mason and Penn State will match up for the first time since November 2019. Both teams were eliminated in the quarterfinals of their conference tournaments, with the Patriots falling to Duquesne in the A-10 and the Lady Lions losing to No. 2 Iowa in the Big Ten.
The Lady Lions rank 27th in the NET rankings, the highest of any team left out of the NCAA Tournament. They are led by former Maryland and Virginia Tech guard Ashley Owusu. Owusu averaged 17.7 points per game during the regular season and earned a spot on the All-Big Ten second-team.
The Patriots come in at 63rd in the NET rankings. In January, Mason reached 48th in the rankings, their highest in program history. Two Patriots earned individual accolades after the regular season, with sophomore Zahirah Walton earning A-10 Rookie of the Year and senior Sonia Smith winning A-10 Most Improved Player. Freshman Kennedy Harris also earned a spot on the A-10 All-Rookie team.
Tip-off between Mason and Penn State is set for 6 p.m. on Thursday. The winner will advance to play either Belmont or fourth-seeded Ball State in the second round. Every WBIT game will be available on the ESPN platforms, with all first round games streaming exclusively on ESPN+. The second round will begin on Sunday, Mar. 24.
