gophers/ncaa

The Gophers women’s basketball team will play host to Ball State on Friday in the first round of the WNIT.

The game time will be announced Tuesday.

“We are excited to be playing in March and we are looking forward to getting our young team more postseason experience,” Gophers coach Pam Borton said. “Our first game is at home and we have an exciting team to watch, so we look forward to seeing our fans back at the Barn on Friday night.”

The Gophers (18-13) last played on March 7 when they lost to Ohio State 58-47 in the first round of the Big Ten tournament in Hoffman Estates, Ill.

Ball State (15-15), which went 12-4 in the Mid-American Conference regular season, lost to Akron 70-61 in the MAC semifinals on March 15.

The Gophers and Ball State have met just once. Ball State defeated the Gophers 79-70 in the Gophers’ 1999-2000 season opener.

The Gophers, who haven’t made the NCAA tournament since 2009, won the Women’s Basketball Invitational postseason tournament last year.

The Gophers, who are making their ninth postseason appearance in 11 seasons, last played in the WNIT in 2007.

The winner of Friday’s game will play the winner of the Northern Iowa-Marquette game. Those teams play Friday in Milwaukee.

Second-round games in the 64-team tournament will be played Saturday through Monday.

STAFF REPORTS