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Gophers draw No. 2 seed in Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament

Minnesota will play Toledo in the first round of the tournament on Thursday.

Nolan O'Hara

Minnesota head coach Dawn Plitzuweit on the sidelines during the fourth quarter against UCLA at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom in Los Angeles on Feb. 2, 2025.
Minnesota head coach Dawn Plitzuweit on the sidelines during the fourth quarter against UCLA at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom in Los Angeles on Feb. 2, 2025. / Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images
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After missing out on the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday, the Gophers women's basketball team has accepted an invitation to the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) and will be a No. 2 seed for the 32-team competition.

The WBIT is its second year of existence as a single-elimination postseason tournament owned and funded by the NCAA, and it's the second-highest-level postseason tournament aside from the Big Dance. The tournament gets underway with first-round games on Thursday and it runs through April 2, when the championship game will be played in Indianapolis.

The Gophers received a No. 2 seed for the tournament and will take on unseeded Toledo in the first round of the WBIT on Thursday in a game that will be televised on ESPN+. Time is to be announced.

Minnesota finished the year with a 20-11 record and an 8-10 record in Big Ten play. The Gophers got off to a terrific start to the year, winning their first 10 games and making appearances in the Associated Press Top 25 after a 16-1 start to the season. But they did lose star guard Mara Braun in the process, other injuries popped up, too, and they eventually caught up to Minnesota as the team finished the year 4-10, including a first-round loss to Washington in the Big Ten Tournament.

The U will be looking to snap a three-game skid when it takes on Toledo in postseason action on Thursday.

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Nolan O'Hara
NOLAN O'HARA

Nolan O'Hara covers all things Minnesota sports, primarily the Timberwolves, for Bring Me The News and Sports Illustrated's On SI network. He previously worked as a copy editor at the St. Paul Pioneer Press and is a graduate of the University of Minnesota's Hubbard School of Journalism. His work has appeared in the Pioneer Press, Ratchet & Wrench magazine, the Minnesota Daily and a number of local newspapers in Minnesota, among other publications.

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