The Gophers women's basketball team won't be in the NCAA tournament, but there is a silver lining.
The Gophers, coming off their 14th 20-win season in program history, will play in the Women's NIT, and will open the tournament against Northern Iowa at Williams Arena at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
"I think any postseason experience for us is good," first-year Gophers coach Lindsay Whalen said. "Obviously our goal is always to make it to the [NCAA] tournament. But for our team, the experience all over our roster, it will be beneficial."
Minnesota, at 20-10 one of 41 teams in the 64-team field with 20 or more victories and one of three Big Ten Conference teams in the tournament, could be granted at least one more home game should they get past the Panthers. It is another opportunity for seniors Kenisha Bell, Annalese Lamke, Irene Garrido Perez and Palma Kaposi to play a game at home.
First-round games will be over by Friday. Second-round games will be Saturday through Tuesday. Third-round games will be March 27-29, fourth-round games March 30-31. The semifinals will be April 3-4 and the championship is April 6.
The Gophers are coming off a 66-58 loss to Indiana on March 7 in the Big Ten tournament, but they enter the WNIT having won seven of their past 10 games. That includes regular-season victories over NCAA tournament teams Indiana, Rutgers and Michigan State and two over WNIT-bound Northwestern.
The Gophers were 14-4 at home this season, including 5-4 in Big Ten play, winning their final four home conference games.
