| Teams | 16 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finals site | Ferrell Center Waco, TX | ||||
| Champions | Penn State (1st title) | ||||
| Runner-up | Baylor (1st title game) | ||||
| Semifinalists | |||||
| Winning coach | Rene Portland (1st title) | ||||
| MVP | Helen Darling (Penn State) | ||||
| Attendance | 10,057 (championship) | ||||
| |||||
The 1998 Women's National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 16 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 1998 Women's NCAA tournament. It was the first edition of the postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT).
The final four of the tournament paired Penn State against Indiana and Baylor against LSU. It was Penn State and Indiana third game of the year, Penn State won the rubber match 70–42 while Baylor beat LSU 66–61.
Bracket
Visiting teams in first round are listed first. Games marked signify overtime. Source
Regional bracket
| First Round March 13 | Second Round March 15 | Quarterfinals March 20 | |||||||||
| Villanova | 61 | ||||||||||
| Penn State | 68 | ||||||||||
| at Penn State | 72 | ||||||||||
| Saint Joseph's | 59 | ||||||||||
| American | 68 | ||||||||||
| Saint Joseph's | 77 | ||||||||||
| at Penn State | 70 | ||||||||||
| Indiana | 42 | ||||||||||
| Cincinnati | 62 | ||||||||||
| Toledo | 76 | ||||||||||
| at Toledo | 60 | ||||||||||
| Indiana | 61 | ||||||||||
| Xavier | 74 | ||||||||||
| Indiana | 80 | ||||||||||
Regional bracket
| First Round March 13 & 15 | Second Round March 15 & 17 | Quarterfinals March 20 | |||||||||
| Boise State | 38 | ||||||||||
| LSU | 58 | ||||||||||
| at LSU | 74 | ||||||||||
| Butler | 58 | ||||||||||
| Butler | 95 | ||||||||||
| Bowling Green | 90 | ||||||||||
| LSU | 61 | ||||||||||
| at Baylor | 66 | ||||||||||
| Oklahoma State | 75 | ||||||||||
| Rice | 52 | ||||||||||
| Oklahoma State | 47 | ||||||||||
| at Baylor | 54 | ||||||||||
| Mississippi State | 65 | ||||||||||
| Baylor | 75 | ||||||||||
Championship
| Championship March 24 | ||||
| Penn State | 59 | |||
| at Baylor | 56 | |||
WNIT All-Tournament Team
- Helen Darling - Penn State (MVP)
- LaToya Ellis - Baylor
References
- "1998 Women's National Invitational Tournament Bracket" (PDF). Retrieved February 28, 2023.
- "WNIT Announces 20th Anniversary All-Time Top 20 Player List". womensnit.com. March 28, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
- "2022-23 Baylor Bears women's basketball almanac" (PDF). baylorbears.com. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
| Women's National Invitation Tournament | |
|---|---|
| National Women's Invitational Tournament | |
| Interim | |
| Women's National Invitation Tournament | |