Moon’s Musings: NCAA must take ownership of WNIT as step toward gender equity in basketball
Traveling during spring break is common for many UCLA students. It’s a time for them to vacation, visit family and friends or simply relax before the start of a new quarter. But in the case of one specific group of Bruins, their travel during break proved just the opposite. While other students concluded their final exams, members of UCLA women’s basketball were preparing to begin their run in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament, which would last throughout the break. After two wins at Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins were forced to hit the road for the ensuing rounds despite presumably being a top seed in their group – though the WNIT has no official seedings for the teams.
By Francis Moon
Traveling during spring break is common for many UCLA students.
It’s a time for them to vacation, visit family and friends or simply relax before the start of a new quarter.
But in the case of one specific group of Bruins, their travel during break proved just the opposite.
While other students concluded their final exams, members of UCLA women’s basketball were preparing to begin their run in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament, which would last throughout the break. After two wins at Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins were forced to hit the road for the ensuing rounds despite presumably being a top seed in their group – though the WNIT has no official seedings for the teams.
After grinding out a come-from-behind, triple-overtime victory over Wyoming in the third round in which multiple Bruins logged 48 or more minutes, they didn’t get a chance to rest. Instead, they faced a different kind of tiresome journey with a road matchup against Oregon State on the schedule three days later.