"This is a great day for the program and a great opportunity to play postseason basketball. It really shows a commitment by everyone involved with the program and NIU Athletics," said Head Coach Lisa Carlsen. "It's also a great opportunity for our student-athletes and if anyone deserves a trip to the postseason, it's this group of young ladies."

The WNIT First Round games will begin March 15-17; the second round runs March 18-21. Round 3 is slated for March 22-24; Round 4 is March 25-27, and the WNIT semifinals are set for March 29-30.

The WNIT Championship Game will be played at 2 p.m. Central on April 1 and air live on CBS Sports Network.

Northern Illinois University made five NCAA Tournament appearances in the 1990's (1990, 1992-95) and one in the National Women's Invitational Tournament, a precursor to the WNIT, in 1991.

In its lone NWIT appearance, Northern Illinois University finished 1-2 in the pool play format, falling to Houston (83-71) and UAB (78-71) before bouncing back with a victory over Notre Dame in its tournament finale, 84-82. The 1990-91 Huskies played a program record 35 games that season and posting a 25-10 mark, the second-most wins in NIU history.

The Huskies are coming off their best conference tournament performance in over two decades when it won the 1995 Midwestern Collegiate Conference Tournament to make its last NCAA appearance in program history.

As the No. 4 seed in the MAC Tournament, NIU advanced to the final after overcoming a 22-point deficit against Ohio to defeat the Bobcats, 72-71, last Wednesday night. The comeback tied for the largest in NCAA Division I postseason history, matching the feat of Washington against Oregon in the 2013 Pac-12 Tournament First Round.

The pack followed up two days later against No. 8 Western Michigan, who opened the tournament in Cleveland with an upset over bitter rival and No. 1 seed Central Michigan, and downed the Broncos, 83-55, to advance to its first MAC final since 1982.

After entering the fourth quarter with a one-point lead over Toledo, 49-48, NIU would fall to the Rockets, 82-71, as UT advanced to its first NCAA Tournament since 2001.

Following the conclusion of the tournament, both Ally Lehman and Courtney Woods were named to the Mid-American American Conference's All-Tournament team as just the fourth and fifth players in program history to earn the distinction.

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