2004 Women's National Invitation Tournament

2004 Women's National Invitation Tournament

Teams	32
Finals site	Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, Nebraska
Champions	Creighton (1st title)
Runner-up	UNLV (1st title game)
Semifinalists	Richmond Iowa State
Winning coach	Jim Flanery (1st title)
MVP	Christy Neneman (Creighton)
Attendance	4,180 (championship game)
Women's National Invitation Tournaments «2003 2005»

The 2004 Women's National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2004 Women's NCAA tournament. It was the seventh edition of the postseason Women's National Invitation Tournament.

In one semifinal of the tournament, Creighton faced Richmond, played at Omaha Civic Auditorium. The other semifinal game featured UNLV against Iowa State. Creighton defeated Richmond 81–72 behind Dayna Finch's 24 points and a 16 point, 9 rebound and 8 assist performance by Christy Neneman, flirting with a triple double. Meanwhile, UNLV defeated Iowa State 65–59. UNLV was down by double digits 47–37 midway through the second half, but overcame the deficit to take a lead with just under a minute remaining, then hitting five of six free throws in the final 32 seconds to win the game.

The final pitted Creighton and UNLV against each other in Omaha, Nebraska at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. Creighton dominated the title game from the very beginning, outscoring the Lady Rebels early to take a 17–4 lead. UNLV briefly cut the lead to single digits early in the second half but the Blue Jays went on a 10–2 run to retake a commanding lead. They later had a 13–0 run to put the game out of reach and gave the coach the opportunity to play all the bench players.

Bracket

Region 1

*Host • Source

	March 17–19					March 19–22					March 24–25
		Pepperdine	59
		Washington*	71
							Washington*	69
							Creighton	74
		Colorado State*	68
		Creighton	79
												Creighton*	74
												Oregon State	64
		Drake	60
		Nebraska*	73
							Nebraska*	67
							Oregon State	75
		Oregon State*	64
		Gonzaga	69

Region 2

*Host • Source

	March 17–19					March 19–22					March 24–25
		Louisville*	61
		Western Michigan	63
							Western Michigan*	85 OT
							Charlotte	83
		Charlotte	78
		Clemson*	71
												Richmond	63
												Western Michigan*	57
		South Florida	55
		Richmond*	63
							Richmond*	84
							Florida State	77
		Florida State	67
		South Alabama*	61

Region 3

*Host • Source

	March 17–19					March 19–22					March 24–25
		Idaho State	59
		Iowa State*	72
							Iowa State*	71
							Miami(Ohio)	57
		Miami(Ohio)*	77
		Xavier	65
												Iowa State*	66
												Saint Joseph's	58
		George Mason	56
		Seton Hall*	61
							Seton Hall	61
							Saint Joseph's*	68 OT
		Kent State	51
		Saint Joseph's*	61

Region 4

*Host • Source

	March 17–19					March 19–22					March 24–25
		Cincinnati	78
		Western Kentucky*	80 OT
							Western Kentucky*	104
							Memphis	87
		Tulsa	64
		Memphis*	66
												Western Kentucky	75
												UNLV*	78
		Rice	59
		Arkansas State*	52
							Rice	66
							UNLV*	68
		Arizona State	47
		UNLV*	50

Semifinals and championship game

Source

	WNIT Semifinals March 26–28					WNIT Championship Game March 31, 2005
	Creighton*		81
	Richmond		72
						Creighton*		73
						UNLV		52
	UNLV		65
	Iowa State*		59