FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Women's National Invitation Tournament officials have announced the bracket and first-round matchups for the 26th annual Preseason WNIT. The University of South Alabama women's basketball team is one of 16 teams to participate, and will face off against UAB on Friday, Nov. 8 in Birmingham, Ala. at 5:30 p.m. CST. 

In the current format each team is guaranteed at least three games in the preseason tournament, thanks to two consolation rounds. In the winners bracket, round one will be held Nov. 8-9, round two Nov. 10-11, the semifinals on Nov. 14, and the championship game is to be held at 2 p.m. CST on Sunday Nov. 17. The title game will be televised on CBS Sports Network. 

All games will be held at host institutions. Here is a look at the first round matchups and dates. 

UC Irvine at Oregon State, Nov. 9, TBA
UMKC at Pacific, Nov. 8, 10 p.m. ET
Miami (OH) at DePaul, Nov. 8, 8 p.m. ET
Davidson at Drexel, Nov. 9, 2 p.m. ET
Prairie View A&M at Oklahoma, Nov. 8, 8 p.m. ET
South Alabama at UAB, Nov. 8, 6:30 p.m. ET
Portland State at Boise State, Nov. 8, 8 p.m. ET
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Missouri State, Nov. 8, 8 p.m. ET

South Alabama will be participating in its second preseason WNIT, coming off of a 25-11 season that saw the team advance to the second round of the postseason WNIT. 

The Jaguars matchup with the Blazers will be the 44th meeting between the two programs, and the first since Dec. 21, 2017. South fell to UAB, 66-78 in that matchup. The Blazers own a four-game winning streak vs. the Jaguars and have a 29-14 all-time advantage in the series. 

The last time the two teams met UAB shot 52 percent from the floor in the second half to seal the deal and win by 12. Shaforia Kines led all Jags scorers with 15 points and added five rebounds and five assists. Antoinette Lewis added nine points and six rebounds off the bench, while Savannah Jones put up eight points in 23 minutes of action. 

The winner of South Alabama and UAB will face the winner of the Nov. 8 matchup between Oklahoma and Prairie View A&M. The second round game will be played on Nov. 10. The full bracket can be seen here: Presason WNIT Bracket

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the South Circle, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to South Circle directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give

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