Fort Collin, Co. – After receiving an at-large selection to the 2024 Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), the Duquesne University women's basketball team earned a first-round bye in the event.

The Dukes will play the winner of Buffalo (19-13) – Monmouth (21-9), who square off on Thursday, March 21, in Buffalo, New York, at Alumni Arena. The second-round contest will be played between March 23-26, with a time and place to be announced. The Bulls and Hawks were announced as part of the new 48-team field on Sunday night.

Selection criteria for the 48-team tournament includes 32 automatic berths – one from each established conference, and an estimated 16 at-large teams. The first-round games will be played between March 20-22.

RELATED: Bracket, Round-One Matchups and Times Announced for 2024 Postseason WNIT

Duquesne will be competing in the WNIT for the 10^th time in program history and for the fifth time under head coach Dan Burt. The Dukes are 8-9 all-time in the event, including a pair of 'Sweet 16' runs in 2011 and 2015. Duquesne returns back to the tournament for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign, where it won a pair of contests over Miami Ohio (69-56) and Georgetown (69-66) before falling to St. John's (65-52) in the third round. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019-20, the tournament was cancelled as the Dukes were projected to make the WNIT. 

The Dukes enter the tournament with a 20-12 overall record after making it to the final four of the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship. After receiving a first-round bye, Duquesne captured an 81-57 rout of UMass before securing a 63-62 thriller over George Mason. The Dukes would eventually fall to A-10 Champion Richmond, 80-66 in the semifinals.

Full 2024 WNIT Schedule:
- Round 1 – March 20-22
- Round 2 - March 23-26
- Round 3 – March 27-29
- Quarterfinals – March 30-31 or April 1
- Semifinals – April 2-3
- Championship - Saturday, April 6