INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The High Point University women's basketball team has been selected as one of the seven schools who received an automatic bid to the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) for winning the Big South Conference regular season. High Point was selected to go play University of Virginia on Thursday, March 21 at 7 p.m. in Charlottesville, Va.
 
The WBIT is a new 32-team tournament that is being debuted this year. High Point got an automatic bid as Big South Coach of the Year Chelsea Banbury coached the Panthers to a 20-11 overall record and a 14-2 Big South record as the Panthers took home the regular season crown.
 
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This will be the fourth matchup between the two programs dating back to the 2008-09 season. High Point will be looking for its first win over the Cavs in Charlottesville.
 
The Virginia Cavaliers finished the season with a 15-15 overall record and a 7-11 record in ACC play. They fell to Wake Forest, 55-58, in the first round of the ACC Tournament. The Cavs average 72.8 points per game and are led by Kymora Johnson who averages 15.6 points per game. Camryn Taylor leads the team in rebounds sitting at 6.2 boards per game.
 
HPU took home a 70-57 win in the quarterfinals against No. 9 UNC Asheville to advance to the Big South Conference semifinals. The Panthers fell short to No. 5 Presbyterian, 50-59, as the Blue Hose went on to win the tournament. Big South Player of the Year Lauren Bevis leads HPU with 16.5 points per game, while Nakyah Terrell averages 8.4 points per game and 4.1 rebounds. Amaria McNear has a team-high 35 blocks, while Terrell and Bevis have 37 and 32 steals, respectively. 

This will be the second year in a row that High Point has been invited to a tournament outside of March Madness. Last year, the Panthers went up against Clemson University in their fifth appearance in the WNIT.