The Troy Trojans (20-13) accepted their second straight bid into the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) and also received a first round bye. 

Last season, Troy made it all the way to the Fab 4 of the WNIT, the deepest any Troy team has ever made it in a postseason appearance. This is also Troy’s fourth appearance in the WNIT, all coming under head coach Chanda Rigby. 

Troy’s bye into the second round means the Trojans will play the winner of Chattanooga vs. Alabama A&M. Chattanooga and Alabama A&M play at 1 p.m. on March 22 and the winner will face off against the Trojans in the second round. Second round matchups will be played March 23-25 with specific dates and times to be announced after the first round games. 

Other teams to earn first round byes include Washington State, North Dakota State, North Texas, Central Arkansas, Illinois State, Tarleton State, Louisiana Tech, Buffalo, Southern Indiana, Rutgers, College o f Charleston, Miami (Ohio), Cleveland State, Purdue-Fort Wayne and Butler. Troy, UAB and Alabama A&M are the only teams from the State of Alabama to make the WNIT. 

Troy is coming off a season that saw the Trojans finish 20-13 and earn the third seed in the Sun Belt Tournament before falling in the semifinals of the tournament. Troy is led by All-Sun Belt forward Zay Dyer, who comes into the WNIT averaging 13.4 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and one block per game. 

The Super 16 round begins on March 26 with the Great 8 starting march 29, the Fab 4 starting April 1 and the Championship Game taking place April 5 at 2 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.