PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Pilots Women's Basketball will compete in postseason play, partaking in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). It marks the seventh straight year that the Pilots have qualified for postseason play.
 
The official bracket will be released on Monday, March 16. This is the fourth time that the Pilots have qualified for the WNIT, last playing in the tournament in 2022. The Pilots won their first ever WNIT game in that tournament against the Colorado State Rams. It's the 14^th time in program history the Pilots have qualified for any postseason tournament, having qualified for the NCAA Tournament seven times, the WBI twice, the WBIT once and now the WNIT four times.
 
The WNIT is a 48-team tournament that features automatic qualification for at least one team in each of the NCAA's 31 Division conference. Teams automatically qualify if they are the highest-finishing team in their conference -- meaning those seeded second in their respective conference tournaments -- and have not already been selected to the NCAA Tournament or the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT).
 
First round games begin the weekend of March 19-21, followed by second round games March 22-24. The Super 16 follows from March 25-27 and the Great 8 March 28-30. The Fab 4 will be played March 31 and April 1 followed by the championship on April 4. All games are played at selected host sites, which will be revealed along with the bracket on Monday, March 16.
 
Last season the Pilots played in the WBIT for the first time in program history, earning two wins in the tournament over the Stanford Cardinal and the Seton Hall Pirates – their first ever over the Cardinal and their first ever over a Big East team – before losing to the Villanova Wildcats in the quarterfinals. It was one of the most successful seasons in program history, with the Pilots breaking numerous program records on their way to a record-breaking 31 wins. After having no previous postseason wins, the Pilots have earned five in the last seven seasons under head coach Michael Meek.
 
The Pilots finished the regular season at 18-14 overall and 11-7 in WCC play, posting a top-five finish in WCC play for the sixth time in seven seasons under Meek. They earned a win in the third round of the WCC Tournament over the Washington State Cougars before falling in the quarterfinals to the Oregon State Beavers.
 
Portland now waits to see if they will play host in the WNIT or if they will hit the road. Stay tuned for the full bracket reveal for the Pilots on Monday, March 16. 
 
POSTSEASON HISTORY
• 1994 NCAA Tournament (1st Round Loss to USC – 77-62)
• 1995 NCAA Tournament (1st Round Loss to Purdue – 74-59)
• 1996 NCAA Tournament (1st Round Loss to TTU – 61-78)
• 1997 NCAA Tournament (1st Round Loss to Michigan State – 75-70 (OT))
• 1999 WNIT (1st Round Loss to Washington – 67-63)
• 2009 WNIT (1st Round Loss to Portland State – 57-51)
• 2010 WBI (1st Round Loss to Washington – 75-44)
• 2020 NCAA Tournament (Canceled due to COVID-19)
• 2021 WBI (Championship Loss to Cleveland State – 67-64)
• 2022 WNIT (2nd Round loss to Oregon State - 74-56)
• 2023 NCAA Tournament (1st Round loss to Oklahoma – 85-63)
• 2024 NCAA Tournament (1st Round loss to Kansas State – 78-65)
• 2025 WBIT Tournament (Quarterfinals loss to Villanova – 71-61)

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