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UNIVERSITY PARK -- The Penn State women's basketball team earned a spot in the 2024 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament as a No. 1 seed.
The Lady Lions will host George Mason on Thursday in the Bryce Jordan Center in PSU's first Invitation Tournament appearance since the 2017-18 season.
In the inaugural year of the WBIT, the Lady Lions are one of four top seeds.
Penn State was one of the first teams out of the NCAA Tournament.
The first, second and quarterfinal rounds of the inaugural WBIT will be hosted at campus sites with the semifinals and finals taking place in Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. The preliminary rounds of the postseason tournament will be streamed on ESPN+.
South Carolina No. 1
Dawn Staley and South Carolina could see some familiar faces on their path to trying to finish off an undefeated season.
The Gamecocks, who are the No. 1 overall seed in the women's NCAA Tournament, are looking to become the 10th women's basketball team to go unbeaten for an entire season.
They had a chance last season before falling just short against Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the Final Four. The Hawkeyes received the other No. 1 seed in the Albany Regional. The two teams wouldn't potentially face off until the national championship game this time. Iowa is a one-seed for the first time since 1992.
USC and star freshman JuJu Watkins earned the Trojans' first No. 1 seed since 1986 as the top choice in a Portland Regional. Texas earned the fourth No. 1 seed, its first since 2004, and will play Drexel in the other Portland Regional opener. There was debate whether Texas or Stanford would get the fourth No. 1 seed.
"To say we talked about it more than once was an understatement," said NCAA selection committee Chair Lisa Peterson. "What it came down to was Texas had to play three tournament teams to get to the (Big 12) championship."
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley's squad has been challenged a few times this year, including needing a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Kamilla Cardoso to win the semifinals of the SEC Tournament over Tennessee, but has always pulled through. The Gamecocks, who are a No. 1 seed for the fourth consecutive year, will play the winner of Sacred Heart and Presbyterian in the first round of the tournament.
"I always feel good to be the No. 1 overall seed and to be undefeated," Staley said. "I'm excited because we get a chance to know what our path is to win the national championship and, all great teams, a lot of familiar faces that are in our region. But we have to take it one game at a time and that's what we'll do on Friday."
Cardoso will miss the opening game after getting ejected for fighting in the SEC title game. The Gamecocks would have her back for a potential second-round matchup against either North Carolina or Michigan State. South Carolina beat the Tar Heels earlier in the season.
Joining the Gamecocks in the Albany Region are No. 2 seed Notre Dame, third-seeded Oregon State and fourth-seeded Indiana. South Carolina opened up its season against the Irish, routing them in Paris.
Clark, who became the NCAA's all-time leading scorer this year, is trying to win her first title. The Hawkeyes open up against the winner of Holy Cross and UT Martin.