Liberty hosts VCU in women’s NIT

Staff
Published: July 8, 2008

Liberty’s women’s basketball season ended in March with a loss in a tournament to a state rival from the Colonial Athletic Association.

The Flames hope the 2008-09 season doesn’t start the same way.

Liberty will host VCU in a Preseason Women’s NIT game on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. in the Vines Center. The winner will face the winner of the first-round game between North Carolina and Western Carolina.

It’s the second straight year the Big South Conference has been represented in the tournament. Radford participated in last year’s event, losing at TCU in the first round before splitting consolation bracket games against Miami of Ohio and Marshall.

Each NIT team is guaranteed three games. Losers of first-round games will be placed in four-team consolation brackets.

Liberty went 28-4 last season and lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Old Dominion, VCU’s CAA rival.

VCU returns four starters from a team that won 26 games and made an apperance in the CAA tournament championship game.

The Rams lost, but they reached the second round of the posteason Women’s NIT.

Liberty and VCU have met 30 times, with the Rams holding a 21-9 edge. Liberty has won three straight and four of five against the Rams. LU beat VCU 62-43 in Lynchburg in 2003 in the team’s most recent meeting.

preseason WNIT

(2007-08 records in parentheses)
First round, Friday, Nov. 14
* Robert Morris (23-10) at Xavier (24-9), 3 p.m.
* Western Carolina (25-9) at North Carolina (33-3), 7 p.m.
* VCU (26-8) at Liberty (28-4), 7 p.m.
* Ball State (15-15) at Indiana (18-18), 7 p.m.
* Illinois St. (26-7) at Tulane (16-14), 8 p.m.
* Cleveland St. (19-14) at Arizona St. (22-11), 8 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 15
* UC Riverside(14-16) at Oklahoma (22-9), 3 p.m.
* Lafayette (14-16) at Middle Tennessee St. (22-12), 8 p.m.