The 2012
Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) was a
single-elimination tournament
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
of 64
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
(NCAA) Division I teams that did not participate in the
2012 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
The 2012 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament began March 17 and concluded April 3, 2012. The Final Four was played at Pepsi Center in Denver. For only the second time in history, and the first time since 1989, all four of the number on ...
. The tournament were played entirely on campus sites. The highest ranked team in each conference that did not receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament received an automatic bid to this tournament. The remaining slots were filled by the WNIT Selection Committee. The
Oklahoma State Cowgirls won their first WNIT title, defeating the
James Madison Dukes
The James Madison Dukes are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent James Madison University (JMU), in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The name "Dukes" is derived from Samuel Page Duke, the university's second president. The Dukes play as m ...
in the championship game, 75–68.
Toni Young of Oklahoma State was named tournament MVP.
Preseason WNIT
The pre-season 2011 is the 18th edition of the
Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), an annual event hosted entirely at campus sites. The championship game had the No. 1-ranked
Baylor hosting the No. 2-ranked
Notre Dame. The WNIT
MVP
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
Brittney Griner
Brittney Yevette Griner (; born October 18, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. women's natio ...
scored 32 points for Baylor in a win over Notre Dame.
Championship Bracket
Source:
Consolation Brackets
Source:
Consolation Rounds 1 & 2
* Games Played at
Akron
Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...
Consolation Rounds 1 & 2
* Games Played at
McNeese State
McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. ...
Consolation Round 3
* Quarterfinal Losers
''Team listed on top is home team''
Post-Season Tournament
The post-season 2012
Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) is a
single-elimination tournament
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
of 64
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
(NCAA) Division I teams that did not participate in the
2012 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
The 2012 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament began March 17 and concluded April 3, 2012. The Final Four was played at Pepsi Center in Denver. For only the second time in history, and the first time since 1989, all four of the number on ...
. The tournament is played entirely on campus sites. The highest ranked team in each conference that did not receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament received an automatic bid to this tournament. The remaining slots were filled by the WNIT Selection Committee.
The
Oklahoma State Cowgirls won their first WNIT title by the score of 75–68 over the
James Madison Dukes
The James Madison Dukes are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent James Madison University (JMU), in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The name "Dukes" is derived from Samuel Page Duke, the university's second president. The Dukes play as m ...
. Oklahoma State was coached by
Jim Littell
James Alan Littell (born September 28, 1955) is a former head coach of the Oklahoma State University women's basketball team. He is currently an assistant coach for the Wichita State.
Littell spent 14 seasons as the head coach at Seward County ...
, who took over following the death of head coach
Kurt Budke
Kurt John Budke (June 3, 1961 – November 17, 2011) was an American college basketball coach. Budke was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. His final coaching job was as the head coach for the Oklahoma State Cowgirls baske ...
in a plane crash on November 17, 2011.
Participants
Automatic bids
In addition to the 31 automatic bids from respective conferences, 33 teams, with a winning record, will receive an at-large bid to the tournament.
At-Large bids
Bracket
Source:
''Team listed on top is home team''
Region 1
Region 2
Region 3
Region 4
Semifinals and championship game
Played at host schools
All-tournament team
*
Toni Young, Oklahoma State (MVP)
* Liz Donohoe, Oklahoma State
*
Kirby Burkholder, James Madison
* Tarik Hislop, James Madison
*
Kayla Alexander
Kayla Janine Alexander (born January 5, 1991) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Tango Bourges Basket of the Ligue Féminine de Basketball. She played college basketball for the Syracuse Orange. After a successful career with t ...
, Syracuse
* Dominique Conners, San Diego
Source:
See also
*
2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
The 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament involving 68 schools playing to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 74th edition of the tournament began on Marc ...
*
2012 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
The 2012 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament began March 17 and concluded April 3, 2012. The Final Four was played at Pepsi Center in Denver. For only the second time in history, and the first time since 1989, all four of the number on ...
*
2012 Women's Basketball Invitational
References
{{2012 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament navbox
Women's National Invitation Tournament
Women's National Invitation Tournament
Women's National Invitation Tournament
Women's National Invitation Tournament