Stanford Women's Basketball: The Cardinal's Path in the Women's Invitation Tournament

Postseason basketball is back on The Farm. For the second straight season, the Stanford Cardinal earned an at-large bid into the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament, a postseason tournament for teams that did not earn a spot in March Madness.

Under the tutelage of Tara VanDerveer, the Stanford women's basketball program made nearly 40 straight trips to the Big Dance, becoming a perennial contender. Now they're rebuilding from scratch under second year head coach Kate Paye, but continue to be in postseason consideration and just an extra couple of wins could have seen them participating in the Madness this season.

After a first round exit from the WBIT last year, the Cardinal are entering with a new group of talented women hungry to be the last of the 32 teams standing. The Cardinal's path will be tough, but going on a run is not out of the question for Paye's squad.

In round one, the No. 2 seed Cardinal will take on the WCC champions, Loyola Marymount. A strong team, finishing 21-9 (15-3 WCC), Loyola Marymount will pose a tough challenge to kick things off.

If the Cardinal can pull off a win, it will be a massive momentum boost the rest of the way. Should the Cardinal advance, they would take on the winner of the George Mason vs. Quinnipiac game in the second round.

If the Cardinal make it to the quarterfinals, their opponent would be one of either BYU, Alabama A&M, Missouri or Seton Hall.

Of those teams, Alabama A&M is the only automatic qualifier, winning the SWAC postseason tournament and finishing the season with an overall record of 22-10. All of the games in the first three rounds will be held at various campus sites, with the higher seeded teams being at home.

The final two rounds of the tournament will take place at Charles Kock Arena, home of Wichita State basketball. If Stanford advances, expect the Cardinal to put up a massive fight in their quest to show the world that they are ready to return to the national spotlight next season. A deep run in the WBIT could be a huge momentum builder for the Cardinal heading into next season, too.

But the Cardinal are going into this year's WBIT as a wounded duck, coming off of a heartbreaking loss to Miami in the first round of the ACC tournament.

Ending the regular season on a three-game winning streak, the Cardinal were hoping to string together a Cinderella run in the ACC tournament and be a surprise team that could have potentially snuck into March Madness, instead falling in the first round and seeing their season being decided by the committee.

Now the Cardinal's only focus is on a strong run in the WBIT so that come next season, confidence on the court and hope in the stands are sky high, so that they can return to March Madness after a surprising multi-season absence.

Tip-off for Stanford will be at 7:00 p.m. (PDT) on Thursday, March 19 at Maples Pavilion.

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