Fayetteville State women fail to get NCAA invitation

FAYETTEVILLE,  North Carolina  --  Despite finishing high enough in the final regional rankings, the Fayetteville State women's basketball team was left out of the 64-team NCAA Division II tournament field Sunday, due in large part to the failure of other teams.

The Broncos (24-5) were runners-up to defending national champion Shaw in the CIAA tournament, which earned the Bears an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. But FSU was still hopeful of receiving one of the 42 at-large bids to the NCAA field, especially after being ranked eighth in the final NCAA Atlantic Region poll last week. The top eight teams in that poll would advance to the NCAA field under normal circumstances.

But Bloomsburg's upset of favored Gannon in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference tournament finals, and an early ouster from the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament by Glenville State spoiled those plans. Tournament champs Bloomsburg and Fairmont State received automatic bids for those leagues, while Gannon and Glenville State were regulated to at-large invites. Both Gannon, which earned the region's top seed, and sixth-seeded Glenville State are ranked in the region and nationally ahead of Fayetteville State.

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