Virginia Tech and Navy will face off in the first round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament Friday in a rematch of their second-round meeting in 2017.
Virginia Tech (18-13, 6-10 ACC) will host the game in Blacksburg, Virginia. The Hokies were the ACC’s automatic bid to the WNIT for being the conference’s best team not to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
Meanwhile, Navy (25-7, 13-5 Patriot) earned an at-large bid for its stellar season. The Midshipmen upset No. 2 Bucknell in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals but fell by nine points to No. 1 American in the final.
Bucknell received the league’s automatic WNIT bid, but Navy’s resume proved strong enough to also make it into the field.
Virginia Tech and Navy met in the second round of last year’s event after the Mids topped George Washington and the Hokies beat Rider. Virginia Tech won 75-64 by going 12-for-22 from 3-point range and advanced to the Elite Eight, before falling to eventual WNIT champion Michigan.
The winner of Virginia Tech-Navy may face another local team in the second round. George Mason, which finished fourth in the Atlantic 10 Conference but was upset by George Washington in the league tournament, will play host to Stephen F. Austin in round one. If they advance, the Patriots will draw either the Hokies or Mids.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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