INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Missouri State women’s basketball (25-8) will host Oral Roberts in the opening round of the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament, the organization announced today.
The No. 3 seeded Lady Bears and Golden Eagles will face off on Thursday, March 20 at Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield, Mo. The game will stream on ESPN+. Game times will be finalized no later than 12:00 p.m. ET on Monday, March 17.
The WBIT is an annual 32-team postseason invitation tournament for women’s basketball owned and funded by the NCAA. This marks the second season the tournament has been played, and Missouri State was a part of the inaugural tournament in 2023-24. The bid secures a 10th-straight postseason tournament appearance for the Lady Bears, excluding the 2019-20 Covid season.
Missouri State owns a 25-8 record this season and the Lady Bears were crowned co-champions of the Missouri Valley Conference regular season, marking their 15th regular-season title, before falling in the semifinals of the MVC Tournament to No. 3 seed Belmont. MoState secured its eighth consecutive 20-win season and has achieved it its highest win total under head coach Beth Cunningham.
ORU owns a 24-8 record and finished second in the Summit League regular standings with a 12-4 league record. The Golden Eagles fell to top-seeded South Dakota State in the Summit League Women’s Basketball Championship final.
Tickets for the first round of the WBIT will go on sale through the Missouri State box office beginning Monday (March 17) at 12:00 p.m.
You can purchase tickets by visiting MissouriStateBears.com, calling (417) 836-7678 or visiting the Great Southern Bank Arena Box Office during business hours (Monday-Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.).
The cutoff for season ticket holders to claim and purchase their seats will be Tuesday, March 18 at 12:00 p.m.
