WNIT launches with five games March 18

With the WNIT firing up tonight with five first-round games, here are some names and notes to review:

Radford (17-13) at East Carolina (21-10), 7 p.m. ET – Radford has won a postseason game in only one other season, when the 1988-89 squad won two games during the WNIT. This will be the fourth meeting between Radford and East Carolina; Radford’s one victory in the series came at East Carolina in 1985. ECU is playing in its third consecutive Postseason WNIT.

Cleveland State (19-12) at Michigan (16-14), 7 p.m. ET – A Cleveland State win would give it 20 victories for only the second time in program history. This is the fifth matchup between the two teams, but the first since the 1985-86 season; the series is tied at 2-2. Michigan won two games in the 2014 Postseason WNIT.

UT Martin (22-10) at Ole Miss (17-13), 8 p.m. ET – This marks the first time Ole Miss has reached the postseason since the 2009-10 campaign. These teams have met once before: UT Martin slipped past Ole Miss in the 1999 Postseason WNIT. UT Martin sophomore Ashia Jones was named the Mid-Major Player of the Year by College Sports Madness, one year after being named Freshman of the Year.

Western Michigan (20-12) at Arkansas State (23-10), 8 p.m. ET – Arkansas State is playing in its 10th Postseason WNIT. Junior guard Aundrea Gamble became just the sixth player in Sun Belt Conference history to be named the conference’s Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons. WMU junior forward Miracle Woods leads the team in scoring at about 15 points per game.

Eastern Washington (20-11) at Washington State (17-14), 10 p.m. ET – EWU's 2014-15 campaign was one for the record books as the Eagles won 20 games for the third time in their 33-year history as an NCAA Division I member. Washington State (17-14) owns wins over four NCAA RIP top-50 teams in Dayton, Maryland, Gonzaga and Washington. WSU is 12-4 overall in the 16-game history between the programs.