| WNIT FIRST ROUND: Old Dominion (21-10) at Villanova (18-12) | |||
| Details | Friday, March 22, at 7 p.m. ET (Finneran Pavilion -- Villanova, Pa.) | ||
| Links | Tickets | Stream | ESPN 94.1 | Live Stats | Game Notes | ||
| WNIT | Bracket | Tournament Central | ||
NORFOLK, Va. -- One year after winning just eight games, Nikki McCray-Penson's Monarchs are headed to postseason play.
At 21-10, the Old Dominion women's basketball team earned an at-large bid to the WNIT and will travel to Villanova for a 7 p.m. ET tip on Friday at Finneran Pavilion.
Despite having one of the nation's youngest teams and zero seniors, Old Dominion has posted one of the biggest turnarounds in not only program history, but one of the largest in the NCAA this season. The 13-win improvement from last year is the second-best in ODU history and third-best in the NCAA for 2018-19.
With a 10-6 league record, the Monarchs finished fifth in the Conference USA regular season. They were picked to finish 11th in the preseason coaches' poll.
Individually, leading scorer Victoria Morris (12.5pts) is back from a right foot injury that sidelined the sophomore for eight games. Morris, along with Ajah Wayne (11.8pts, 7.9rebs) and Taylor Edwards (11.3pts, 4.4asts), gives ODU a backcourt that features three double-figure scorers.
This will be ODU's seventh WNIT appearance in program history. The Monarchs are 4-7 all-time in the tournament and last appeared in the WNIT in 2015, when they went 1-1 and defeated Virginia in the opening round.
With a win, ODU would advance to play the winner of West Virginia and Rider.
ABOUT VILLANOVA
The Wildcats finished fourth in the Big East regular season and were ousted in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. Villanova is led by Second Team All-Big East selection Mary Gedaka (14.6pts, 6.8rebs). Series History: The series is tied, 1-1. ODU defeated Villanova in the 1989 NCAA Tournament and then loss to the Wildcats, 71-66, in the WNIT in 2015.
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