Hoosiers to begin WNIT tournament

For the second time in as many years, the IU women’s basketball team qualified for the women’s NIT tournament and will play its first game against Iona College 7 p.m. today at Assembly Hall. This will be the first ever matchup between IU and Iona.\nIn her first year as the Hoosiers’ head coach, Felisha Legette-Jack guided her team to an 18-13 record by season’s end, culminating in a 72-60 loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament, March 2. Now facing Iona, the Hoosiers will look to extend their season after an early exit in the conference tournament.\nThough the Hoosiers fell in the second round of the Big Ten tournament, the team nearly pulled off an upset against the No. 1-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes, coming within six points in the final minutes of the game after being down as many as 15 points. In the tournament, sophomore Kim Roberson averaged 18 points, three steals and 1.5 blocks.\nIn the first round of the WNIT, Iona defeated Long Island 91-79 and will now face a Hoosiers team that is 3-0 in the WNIT at Assembly Hall. Last season, IU qualified for the WNIT and reached the quarterfinals, only to lose a 57-54 heartbreaker to Marquette.