2002 Women's National Invitation Tournament

2002 Women's National Invitation Tournament
Teams	32
Finals site	McArthur Court; Eugene, Oregon
Champions	Oregon (1st title)
Runner-up	Houston (1st title game)
Winning coach	Bev Smith (1st title)
MVP	Cathrine Kraayeveld (Oregon)
Women's National Invitation Tournaments
«2001	2003»

The 2002 Women's National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2002 Women's NCAA tournament. It was the fifth edition of the postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT).

The final four of the tournament paired Houston against Virginia Tech and Michigan State against Oregon. Houston upended Virginia Tech, 77–72, while Oregon beat Michigan State, 65–54.

The final pitted Houston and Oregon. In a close game, Oregon pulled out the victory for their first WNIT Championship, 54–52. Oregon had previously won the National Women's Invitational Tournament (NWIT) title in 1989.

Bracket

Visiting teams in first round are listed first. Source^[1]

South Regional bracket

First Round		Second Round		Quarterfinals

Miami (FL)	73

Georgia Tech	64
		Miami (FL)	76

		Houston	83
Rice	65

Houston	67
				Houston	61

				Valparaiso	53
Valparaiso	62

Michigan	49
		Valparaiso	77

		Ball State	69
Louisville	84

Ball State	95

East Regional bracket

First Round		Second Round		Quarterfinals

Siena	55

Saint Joseph's (PA)	84
		Saint Joseph's (PA)	55

		Vermont	60
Holy Cross	63

Vermont	70
				Vermont	48

				Virginia Tech	76
Delaware	71

George Washington	78
		George Washington	52

		Virginia Tech	68
North Carolina-Greensboro	45

Virginia Tech	51

Midwest Regional bracket

First Round		Second Round		Quarterfinals

Alabama	68

Missouri	67
		Alabama	99

		Eastern Kentucky	77
Eastern Kentucky	72

Southwest Missouri State	65 (OT)
				Alabama	61

				Michigan State	79
DePaul	76

Michigan State	87
		Michigan State	70

		Illinois	57
Western Kentucky	84

Illinois	91

West Regional bracket

First Round		Second Round		Quarterfinals

Hawai'i	50

Oregon State	62
		Oregon State	48

		Oregon	50
Saint Mary's (CA)	61

Oregon	72
				Oregon	77

				Washington	73
Southern California	72

San Francisco	53
		Southern California	87

		Washington	97
North Texas	61

Washington	82

Semifinals and championship game

Semifinals, March 23, 2002			Finals, March 27, 2002

S	Houston	77

E	Virginia Tech	72
			Houston	52

			Oregon	54
MW	Michigan State	54

W	Oregon	65

All-tournament team

Cathrine Kraayeveld, Oregon (MVP)
Shaquala Williams, Oregon
Chandi Jones, Houston
Valerie Muoneke, Houston
Vnemina Reese, Michigan State
Ieva Kubliņa, Virginia Tech

Source:^[2]

References

^ "2002 Postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
^ "Oregon edges Houston on final possession to win 2002 Postseason WNIT crown". womensnit.com. March 23, 2002. Retrieved March 28, 2022.

[bracket-1] "2002 Postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament" (PDF). womensnit.com. Retrieved July 2, 2021.

[2] "Oregon edges Houston on final possession to win 2002 Postseason WNIT crown". womensnit.com. March 23, 2002. Retrieved March 28, 2022.

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