Record Three League Teams Selected to WNIT

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ELMHURST, Ill. -- Three league teams, UMKC, Oral Roberts and South Dakota, were selected to participate in the 2012 WNIT it was announced Monday night. With South Dakota State participating in the NCAA Tournament, this gives The Summit League four postseason teams, besting the previous high of three.

On Thursday, the Coyotes will host their first round contest with Drake while the Kangaroos travel to Missouri State. The Golden Eagles will play at Wichita State on Friday.

South Dakota (22-7) had an outstanding 2011-12 campaign, which was its fourth and final in its transition to Division I status. The Coyotes finished the year by winning 12 out of their final 13 games and recorded wins over three teams that reached the NCAA tournament: South Dakota State, Idaho State and Creighton. South Dakota also beat WNIT qualifiers Oral Roberts and Northern Colorado during the regular season.

The Coyotes finished the season ranked 87^th in the RPI, second-highest total of any Summit League team. South Dakota possessed one of the nation's best defensive teams, as the Coyotes ranked second in the nation in blocks per game (7.3), tied for sixth nationally in field-goal percentage defense (33.6 percent) and tied for 12^th in scoring defense (52.3). South Dakota also ranks second nationally in fewest turnovers per game (12.2) and ninth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.15).

This season the 'Roos posted 22 wins, the second most in school history, trailing only the 24 by the 1991-92 squad, while registering the most road (six) and neutral court (four) wins in school history. During the season, UMKC defeated three RPI top-100 teams (Eastern Michigan, South Dakota, Central Arkansas) and advanced to the Championship game of the Summit League Tournament for only the second time in school history (2005 - L 48-42, Oral Roberts).

The invitation to the WNIT marks UMKC's second appearance in a postseason tournament after the 'Roos fell at Memphis 72-67 in the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitational in 2010.

ORU clinched an automatic berth into the WNIT by virtue of their second place finish in the Summit League. The Golden Eagles are making their third consecutive WNIT appearance. They were eliminated in the first round by Missouri State in 2010, and they beat TCU and Tulane in the 2011 edition of the event before falling to Arkansas in the third round.

Junior Kevi Luper currently ranks fourth in the nation in scoring, at 24.0 points per game, and she also ranks fourth in the country with 3.8 steals per game.