After its best season in nearly a decade, the Northwestern State women’s basketball team got an invitation Sunday night to play in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament, one of 48 teams picked for the event.

The bracket setting 24 first-round games and locations will be released today. The tournament starts Thursday night at campus sites.

“I am extremely excited for our women’s basketball program to have the ability and opportunity to play in the postseason for the first time since 2016,” NSU athletics director Kevin Bostian said. “Our program has a decorated history with the WNIT, and I look forward to this year’s team adding to that legacy.

“Congratulations to Coach (Anna) Nimz, her staff and our players for the great year they have had. The NSU administration thanks the WNIT for inviting us to play and allowing our seniors the opportunity to extend their careers and continue to represent Northwestern State.”

Two other SLC members — Lamar and UIW — are also taking part in the WNIT. So .is Louisiana Tech, coached by Brooke Stoehr, who led the last Lady Demon squad to reach postseason in 2016, a 69-54 loss at UL Lafayette in the Women’s Basketball Invitational.

The last time Northwestern competed in the WNIT was in 1999 after a SLC regular season championship, as the Lady Demons traveled to Arkansas.

“We are incredibly excited to accept an invite to play in the post-season WNIT,” Nimz said. “I’m proud of our group. They put themselves in a position to extend our season and keep fighting.

“This team continues to move the program forward and build excitement around Lady Demon basketball.”

This is the fifth trip to the WNIT for NSU, with a 6-4 record in the event – including a championship game loss to Idaho in 1986 after wins over Tennessee Tech and Duke.

This season’s 16-15 record and tie for fourth in the 12-team Southland standings is a remarkable turnaround for Nimz, who took the job during COVID and went 1-19 in her first season and has led to its first winning season in nearly a decade.