Women's Basketball Earns WBIT Postseason Berth
3/15/2026 9:14:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Georgia Southern makes its first appearance in the NCAA-sponsored postseason tournament; faces Miami (Fla.)
STATESBORO - The Georgia Southern women's basketball team will participate in the 2026 Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament, making just its fourth national postseason appearance in the NCAA era and its first appearance in a postseason tournament sponsored by the NCAA since 1994.
The Eagles will play second-seeded Miami (Fla.) on Thursday, March 19, in first round action in Florida.
Georgia Southern earned its WBIT berth by capturing the Sun Belt Conference regular season championship, the first conference title for the Eagles since 2001.
The Eagles' first taste of national postseason play came during the 1981-82 season, when Georgia Southern women's athletics competed in the AIAW. The Eagles advanced out of Region III with three wins and advanced to the AIAW Sweet 16.
The next time Georgia Southern would compete in the national postseason would be in 1992-93, when the Eagles captured the Southern Conference tournament title and play at Alabama in an NCAA Championships first round matchup. The Eagles would make a second straight NCAA appearance the very next season, in 1993-94, advancing to play at North Carolina in a first round meeting.
Just three seasons ago, the Eagles would make its most recent national postseason appearance, competing in the 13th Women's Basketball Invitational in Lexington, Ky., and going 1-2 in the weekend of action.
"Team 52 has done so much to move our program forward this season and this post-season appearance is such a well-earned opportunity for a group of young women who poured themselves into becoming a championship team," Georgia Southern head women's basketball coach Hana Haden said. "I'm very happy for our student-athletes - and particularly our seniors - to be able to extend their final collegiate season and this will be valuable experience for the rest of our team for the future."
