Armed Forces Sports

Army Women’s Basketball Outlasts Bryant in First-Round WNIT Thriller

The Army West Point Black Knights women’s basketball team was the first to get its shot at advancing in the WNIT.

Matt Postins

Army coach Missy Traversi shouts instructions from the bench during Saturday's game with Navy. ALLYSE PULLIAM/For the Times Herald-Record
Army coach Missy Traversi shouts instructions from the bench during Saturday's game with Navy. ALLYSE PULLIAM/For the Times Herald-Record / Allyse Pulliam / USA TODAY NETWORK
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The Army West Point Black Knights women’s basketball team fought on for another game in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament after slipping past the Bryant Bulldogs, 59-58, on Thursday night.

The Black Knights (25-7) will advance to the second round where it will face the Rutgers Scarlet Knights between Sunday and Tuesday. The date and time is to be determined, but the game is expected to be on campus at Rutgers.

Army was down 11 points, 53-42, with 8:22 left before it rallied to claim the victory. From that point, the Black Knights outscored the Bulldogs, 17-5, to pull out the win.

The Black Knights tied the game for the first time in the quarter on a Fiona Hastick jumper with 2:30 left. Bryant took the lead back with a pair of free throws from Nia Scott with 2:09 left. But, Army got the go-ahead three-point play from Hastick with 48 seconds left.

Hastick scored the final eight points of the game for Army and she led the team with 22 points. Soleil Montrose scored 12 points off the bench for the Black Knights, while Trinity Hardy added 10 points.

The Black Knights survived three shots by the Bulldogs in the final seconds to claim the victory and move into the second round.

Army won its first WNIT game in program history. The Black Knights previously played in the tournament in 2013 and 2015.

The other two service academies start their WNIT journeys later this week.

Air Force (18-14) will host Utah Valley on Friday at 8:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. local) and will be the only service academy to host a first-round game.

The Falcons are looking for their second WNIT victory in program history and won that game in 2022. This will be the first time the Falcons have hosted a postseason game at Clune Arena.

The Falcons are 3-4 all-time against Utah Valley.

Navy (19-11) will play its first-round game at Old Dominion on Saturday at 2 p.m. This is Navy’s seventh postseason bid since the program went Division I. Navy is looking for its first 20-win season since 2017-18 and is returning to the WNIT for the first time since that season.

WNIT 2025 Postseason Tournament

All times eastern

First Round: Thursday

Army West Point 59, Bryant 58

Campbell 57, Coastal Carolina 55

Duquesne 70, Longwood 68

UMass 86, Stonehill 40

Western Illinois 89, Lipscomb 74

Abilene Christian 86, Northwestern State 59

UT Arlington 78, Incarnate Word 52

Texas Southern 54, Saint Mary’s 50

Lindenwood 76, Tulsa 60

New Mexico State 54, Pacific 49

Friday

Siena (17-13) at Howard (21-11), 7 p.m.

UAB (16-15) at UIC (14-17), 8 p.m.

Utah Valley (18-12) at Air Force (18-14), 8:30 p.m.

Saturday

Navy (19-11) at Old Dominion (17-15), 2 p.m.

Alabama A&M (21-10) at Chattanooga (16-14), 2 p.m.

Coppin State (18-14) at Colgate (23-9), 5 p.m.

Round 2

In bracket order (dates, times, locations TBA)

March 23-25

Army West Point vs. Rutgers, TBA

Duquesne vs. Miami (OH), TBA

UMass vs. Buffalo, TBA

Campbell vs. Southern Indiana, TBA

UT Arlington vs. North Texas, TBA

Abilene Christian vs. Central Arkansas, TBA

Western Illinois vs. Illinois State, TBA

Lindenwood vs. Tarleton State, TBA

Texas Southern vs. Louisiana Tech, TBA

New Mexico State vs. North Dakota State, TBA

Chattanooga/Alabama A&M vs. Troy, TBA

Air Force/Utah Valley vs. Washington State, TBA

Howard/Siena vs. College of Charleston, TBA

Colgate/Coppin State vs. Cleveland State, TBA

Old Dominion/Navy vs. Purdue Fort Wayne, TBA

UIC/UAB vs. Butler, TBA

Super 16 - March 26-28, 2025

Great 8 - March 29-31, 2025

Fab 4 - April 1-2, 2025

Championship - Saturday, April 5 at 3 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)

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Matt Postins
MATT POSTINS

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