Syracuse, N.Y. – The Le Moyne College women's basketball team has accepted a bid to the 2024 Postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). The Dolphins are the automatic qualifier out of the Northeast Conference after finishing second in the league standings with a 14-2 conference record.

The 48-team field will be announced on Sunday, March 17, after the NCAA and WBIT schedules are released – the Postseason WNIT will have matchups, times and locations determined and its bracket ready for viewing later on Monday, March 18.

"This is an exciting time for our women's basketball team," said Le Moyne head coach Mary Grimes, who was named the 2023-24 NEC Coach of the Year. "Although we are focused on Sunday, we are very excited to have the opportunity to compete in the postseason. It is a true testament to the work they put in and how hard they work day in and day out," Grimes added.

The Dolphins, who were picked to finish eighth in the NEC Preseason Coaches Poll, claimed six conference sweeps during the NEC regular season, and defeated every NEC team at least once.

Le Moyne, ineligible to qualify for the NCAA Tournament as a reclassifying school, will have the opportunity to compete in a national postseason tournament during its first season at the Division I level in the WNIT.

Along with the Dolphins, three teams have already accepted bids to the event as automatic qualifiers: South Carolina Upstate (16-15), Big South Conference; Southern Indiana (24-6), Ohio Valley Conference; and UNC Greensboro (21-11), Southern Conference.

Prior to the WNIT, Le Moyne will play in the Northeast Conference Championship game on Sunday at Sacred Heart University.

The second-seeded Dolphins defeated seventh-seeded Stonehill and third-seeded FDU to earn its third-ever appearance in a conference championship game. Top-seeded SHU took down eighth-seeded Saint Francis and fourth-seeded Merrimack to return to the NEC title game for the second consecutive season.

Sacred Heart, which claimed the 2023 NEC Tournament Championship, will represent the NEC in the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season.

Here's the schedule for the single-elimination WNIT:
Round 1 - March 20-22, 2024
Round 2 - March 23-26, 2024
Round 3 - March 27-29, 2024
Quarterfinals - March 30-April 1, 2024
Semifinals - April 2-3, 2024

The 2024 Postseason WNIT will again have its championship game broadcast on CBS Sports Network, with tipoff set for Saturday, April 6, at 3 p.m. ET.