The Missouri women's basketball team will make its third consecutive appearance in the Women's National Invitation Tournament after earning a bid Monday.
The 17-13 Tigers, who finished seventh in the Southeastern Conference, will face Northern Iowa on Thursday. Missouri received an automatic bid as the top SEC team not to receive a bid to the NCAA Women's Tournament. Seven SEC teams made the NCAA field of 64, including Arkansas, which finished three spots below Missouri in the conference.
The Tigers fell in the first round of each of their previous two WNIT appearances. Creighton defeated Missouri 77-52 last year, and in 2013 Eastern Illinois topped Missouri 60-58. Missouri last won a WNIT game in 2003.
Northern Iowa went 17-14 this season, finishing fourth with a 12-6 record in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Missouri State, which finished third in the MVC with a 13-5 mark, also made the WNIT. The 18-14 Bears play Friday against Tulsa, which finished third in the American Athletic Conference.
, on Friday.
went 17-13 in the regular season, finishing third in the American Athletic Conference at a 12-6 mark.
Missouri and Missouri State could face one another in the WNITquarterfinals.