University of Portland has accepted an invitation to the 2021 Women's Basketball Invitational postseason tournament as the eight-team field was announced on Monday. The tournament is scheduled for March 19-21 and hosted at the William Exum Center on the campus of Kentucky State University in Frankfort, Kentucky.
The Pilots will open the tournament against Abilene Christian on Friday, March 19 at 2 p.m. (PT). The winner will advance to face the winner of Florida International and Northern Arizona on Saturday. The other side of the bracket features Cleveland State vs. Manhattan and Loyola-Chicago vs. Stetson.
All eight teams are guaranteed to play three games in the bracketed tournament. There will be no fans allowed, but all games will have live video and live statistics.
The Pilots will make their ninth overall postseason appearance in program history at the NCAA level. Last year, the team won the West Coast Conference Tournament title to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, but was unable to compete due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the second appearance for Portland in the WBI after earning a bid in 2010 and losing to Washington in the opening round.
Led by All-WCC first teamers Haylee Andrews and Alex Fowler, the Pilots enter the tournament with a 12-12 record on the season. Andrews led the WCC in assists (6.0) and was fifth in scoring (16.4) and field goal percentage (.478) overall. Fowler finished third in the league in scoring (16.9), fifth in rebounding (7.5) and second in field goal percentage (.543).
Abilene Christian (14-10) defeated the Pilots in Portland on Nov. 29, 2019 by a 76-69 margin in the first and only meeting between the two schools.
Links for video stream and live stats of all games will be available at PortlandPilots.com, while complete tournament information can be found
here.
Portland Women's Basketball Postseason History
| Year |
Tourney |
Round |
Opponent |
Site |
Result |
| 1993-94 |
NCAA |
First |
USC |
Los Angeles, CA |
L, 62-77 |
| 1994-95 |
NCAA |
First |
Purdue |
San Diego, CA |
L, 59-74 |
| 1995-96 |
NCAA |
First |
Texas Tech |
Lubbock, TX |
L, 61-78 |
| 1996-97 |
NCAA |
First |
Michigan State |
Chapel Hill, NC |
L, 70-75 (ot) |
| 1998-99 |
WNIT |
First |
Washington |
Seattle, WA |
L, 63-67 |
| 2008-09 |
WNIT |
First |
Portland State |
Portland, OR (PSU) |
L, 51-57 |
| 2009-10 |
WBI |
First |
Washington |
Seattle, Wash. |
L, 44-75 |
| 2019-20 |
NCAA |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
Tournament canceled |
| 2020-21 |
WBI |
First |
Abilene Christian |
Frankfort, KY |
TBA |
Totals — 9 Berths — 7 Games — 0-7
