BUFFALO, NY. (WKBW) — University at Buffalo women's basketball head coach Becky Burke has a lot of reasons to be grateful, as the Bulls are just one of 10 women's college basketball teams playing in national tournaments (NCAA, WNIT, WBIT).
"There's not a lot of teams that are playing in any tournament right now, so we're super grateful and excited to have a chance to still be playing basketball," Burke said.
Following their 71-64 win over the Big 10 conference's Rutgers on Sunday, Burke's post-game locker room talk felt like it was coming from a team that's heading to the "Final Four."
𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙁𝘼𝘽𝙪𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙨 🤩🐶 Ariana Seawell #UBhornsUP | #MI4 pic.twitter.com/2rmUtP8ALK
— Buffalo Women's Basketball (@UBwomenshoops) March 30, 2025
If you ask her, that's exactly how she hoped that message would come across. Where so many other programs turn down bids to participate in these postseason tournaments, Burke wants to embrace the opportunity it gives and make sure people know why it matters so much in Western New York.
"Look at the field of the WNIT and tell me there's not really good quality teams in this tournament," Burke told reporters on Tuesday. "We just beat a Big 10 (Rutgers) opponent, and Cleveland State is like 23-9. So to win it, no one can tell it isn't one of the coolest, most impressive things you can do. There's three national tournaments that go on, and this is one of them."
Another takeaway from Sunday's win was the crowd that packed Alumni Arena, which in large part, played into Buffalo winning the bid to host one of the Fab 4 games. With another strong showing plus a Bulls win, they could do the same for the WNIT National Championship.
Buffalo and Cleveland State tip-off Wednesday at 6 p.m. from Alumni Arena on UB's North Campus.
