FORT COLLINS, Colo.--Bakersfield (19-11) will travel to Saint Mary's (22-9)  in the first round of the WNIT. The game will be played Friday, Mar. 21 in Moraga, Calif. at 6 P.M.

The Gaels advanced to the semifinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament before losing to No. 18 Gonzaga. Two-time WCC scoring champion Jackie Nared leads Saint Mary's with 21.8 ppg. She has nine double-doubles and has scored at least 30 points in three games this season.

Bakersfield is led by first team All-Conference selection Tyonna Outland. The Compton, Calif., native is fourth in school history with 1,447 points. She is the team leader in points per game (20.8), FG (220), FGA (504), FT (151), FTA (195), steals (48). Outland is second on team in rebounding, assists, and 3-PT FGA (105). She is third on team in made three-pointers (32) and blocks (12).

The winner of the CSUB-SMC game will play the winner of the matchup between UTEP and Arkansas State. That game, its location, and time are to be determined.

The WNIT field includes 10 teams that were crowned regular-season conference champions, tying a WNIT record set in 2013, and 35 teams with 20 or more wins. Now in its 17th year, the Postseason WNIT is the second longest current running postseason event for women's college basketball, behind the NCAA Tournament.  In addition, it is the only men's or women's postseason tournament – other than the NCAA – to offer an automatic berth to each of the 32 established conferences.
 
All games during the tournament are hosted by participating schools with first-round games opening March 19-21, followed by round two (March 22-25), round three (March 26-28), round four (March 29-31), semifinals (April 2-3), and championship (April 5 at 3 p.m. ET).  The championship game will be nationally televised live in HD on CBS Sports Network with Thad Anderson (play-by-play) and Ceal Barry (analyst) calling the action.    

Friday's game can be heard live on KERN Radio Newstalk 1180 and GoRunners.com beginning at 6 P.M.

~www.GoRunners.com~