Idaho women to play in WBI

For the first time in 25 years, the Idaho women's basketball team is heading to the postseason.

The Vandals (15-15) travel to Vermillion, S.D., to play South Dakota on Wednesday in the Women's Basketball Invitational, a tournament in its second year.

Idaho earned the No. 2 seed in the eight-team West Region of the 16-team tournament. The winner of Idaho's game at South Dakota will take on either Northern Colorado or Cal State Bakersfield.

No current Vandal player was alive in 1986, the last time Idaho earned a postseason berth. Idaho beat Fresno State, Notre Dame and Northwest Louisiana to win the WNIT that year. Idaho's only other trip to the postseason was an NCAA bid in 1985, where the Vandals lost in the first round to Southern California.

"It's an unbelievable achievement for our basketball team, the program and the University of Idaho to be in the postseason for the first time in 25 years," Idaho coach Jon Newlee said. "It's a tremendous achievement and something we're extremely proud of."

The Vandals are coming off a Western Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinals appearance, and are 15-15 overall heading into the WBI.

The tournament features east and west regions with eight teams on each side. All games in the tournament will be played on campus sites.