2023 Women's Basketball Invitational
The 2023 Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) is a single-elimination tournament consisting of eight NCAA Division I teams not selected to participate in the 2023 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament or 2023 Women's National Invitation Tournament. The 2023 field was announced on March 13. The 2023 edition of the tournament was played on the campus of Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky at the Clive M. Beck Center. This was the third year in a row the tournament consisted of an eight-team field played over four days, with a winners and consolation bracket, guaranteeing three games for all teams. There was no winning percentage requirement to compete in the tournament. Cal Baptist won the tournament in their first-ever appearance.[1]
| Season | 2022–23 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 8 | ||||
| Finals site | Clive M. Beck Center Lexington, Kentucky | ||||
| Champions | Cal Baptist (1st title) | ||||
| Runner-up | New Mexico State (1st title game) | ||||
| Winning coach | Jarrod Olson (1st title) | ||||
| MVP | Grace Schmidt (Cal Baptist) | ||||
| |||||
Participating teams
The following teams accepted invitations to compete in the 2023 Women's Basketball Invitational:
| Team | Conference | Appearance | Last bid |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Tennessee State | SoCon | 1st | Never |
| FIU | C-USA | 2nd | 2019 |
| New Mexico State | WAC | 1st | Never |
| UIC | Missouri Valley | 2nd | 2014 |
| Cal Baptist | WAC | 1st | Never |
| North Dakota | Summit | 4th | 2016 |
| Georgia Southern | Sun Belt | 1st | Never |
| Northern Illinois | MAC | 1st | Never |
Schedule
| Game | Time | Matchup | Score | Attendance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round – Friday, March 17 | |||||||
| 1 | 12:00 p.m. | East Tennessee State vs. FIU | 81–56 | ||||
| 2 | 2:30 p.m. | New Mexico State vs. UIC | 51–41 | ||||
| 3 | 5:00 p.m. | Cal Baptist vs. North Dakota | 96–79 | ||||
| 4 | 7:30 p.m. | Georgia Southern vs. Northern Illinois | 69–58 | ||||
| Semifinals – Saturday, March 18 | |||||||
| 5 | 12:00 p.m. | FIU vs. UIC | 68–65 | ||||
| 6 | 2:30 p.m. | East Tennessee State vs. New Mexico State | 53–57 | ||||
| 7 | 5:00 p.m. | North Dakota vs. Northern Illinois | 102–99 | ||||
| 8 | 7:30 p.m. | Cal Baptist vs. Georgia Southern | 82–80 | ||||
| Finals – Sunday, March 19 | |||||||
| 9 | 12:00 p.m. | UIC vs. Northern Illinois | 71–56 | ||||
| 10 | 2:30 p.m. | FIU vs. North Dakota | 76–73 | ||||
| 11 | 5:00 p.m. | East Tennessee State vs. Georgia Southern | 96–49 | ||||
| 12 | 7:30 p.m. | New Mexico State vs. Cal Baptist | 61–63 | ||||
| Game times in Eastern Time.[2] | |||||||
Bracket
| 5th place game March 19 | Consolation March 18 | First round March 17 | Semifinals March 18 | Championship March 19 | ||||||||||||||
| East Tennessee State | 81 | |||||||||||||||||
| FIU | 56 | |||||||||||||||||
| FIU | 68 | East Tennessee State | 53 | |||||||||||||||
| UIC | 65 | New Mexico State | 57 | |||||||||||||||
| New Mexico State | 51 | |||||||||||||||||
| UIC | 41 | |||||||||||||||||
| FIU | 76 | New Mexico State | 61 | |||||||||||||||
| North Dakota | 73 | Cal Baptist | 63 | |||||||||||||||
| Cal Baptist | 96 | |||||||||||||||||
| North Dakota | 79 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7th place game March 19 | North Dakota | 102 | Cal Baptist | 82 | 3rd place game March 19 | |||||||||||||
| Northern Illinois | 99 | Georgia Southern | 80 | |||||||||||||||
| UIC | 71 | Georgia Southern | 69 | East Tennessee State | 96 | |||||||||||||
| Northern Illinois | 56 | Northern Illinois | 58 | Georgia Southern | 49 | |||||||||||||
See also
References
- Cal Baptist Claims 2023 WBI Title
- "Brackets". womensbasketballinvitational.com. Women's Basketball Invitational. Retrieved March 18, 2023.