Courtesy of Morgan State Athletics
BALTIMORE, Md. -As the final seconds ticked away during Saturday’s thrilling Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament championship game, the No. 1 seeded Spartans of Norfolk State would not be the only team ending a postseason drought. So too would be the Lady Bears of Morgan State.
Norfolk State’s victory over the Howard Bison meant the Spartans were returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 21 years, while for second-seeded Morgan State, it meant clinching the women’s basketball program’s second-ever Division I postseason appearance, as they will participate in the upcoming Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) for the second time ever. It will be the Lady Bears first postseason appearance since the 2010-11 campaign.
The WNIT field of 64 consists of 32 automatic berths — one from each of the nation’s conferences — and 32 at-large selections.
The Lady Bears (17-11), despite a co runners-up finish with Howard in the league standings at 10-4, earned the automatic bid for the MEAC by way of its tie-breaker over the Lady Bison, who reached the MEAC title game for a third consecutive year.
Morgan State split with both Norfolk State and Howard this season. However, it was the Lady Bears’ season sweep of No. 4 North Carolina Central, which secured the No. 2 seed for Morgan State in the MEAC Tournament, as well as the league’s automatic bid to the WNIT, should Norfolk State win the tournament, which it did with a 56-52 victory over defending champion Howard.
As stated by the WNIT on its website on automatic berths, a team that is offered an automatic berth by the WNIT shall be a team that is a.) the highest-finishing team in its conference’s regular-season standings and b.) is not selected for the NCAA Tournament. A team that fulfills this quality will earn the WNIT automatic berth, regardless of overall or conference record.
Thus, the Lady Bears are going dancing again, putting an end to a 12-year postseason drought.
Morgan State will now wait for its first round opponent and location, which will be announced late Sunday evening, March 12, 2023, after the NCAA Tournament bracket is announced. The full bracket will be announced on Monday, March 13, 2023. Round 1 will take place Wednesday through Friday, March 15-17.
