COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Four Mountain West Conference women's basketball teams have received postseason bids. Utah will move on to the NCAA Tournament with the league's automatic bid, while BYU, TCU and Wyoming are headed to the Women's National Invitation Tournament.

This year marks the 12th consecutive season in which the Mountain West has had at least one institution in the NCAA Tournament. In 12 years, MWC teams have received 30 NCAA bids, including 18 at-large berths. It is the ninth consecutive year, and 11th overall, that the MWC will have a representative in the WNIT. Multiple MWC teams will participate in the WNIT for the ninth time and the fourth time that three or more teams have represented the league.

NCAA Tournament

Utah (18-16) earned the Mountain West Conference automatic bid to the 2011 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship Tournament with a 52-47 overtime win over TCU on Saturday, March 12 to win the championship game. It will be the eighth time Utah has represented the league in the NCAA postseason event and fourth time as the MWC's automatic qualifier. The Utes, the No. 15 seed in the Dayton Region, are hosting first and second round games at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City. Utah is making its 17th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its first since 2009. The Utes are 9-16 overall in the NCAA Tournament.

First round games will be played Saturday, March 19 with Arizona State and Temple squaring off at 2 p.m. MT. Utah will then face Notre Dame at 4:30 p.m. MT. Both first round games will be televised on ESPN2. Monday's second round matchup between the winners of Saturday's games will be played at 7:30 p.m. MT and will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2.

Women's National Invitational Tournament

BYU (23-8), the 2011 MWC regular season champion, earned an automatic bid to the WNIT. The Cougars will face Denver in the first round on Thursday, March 17 at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah. Start time has yet to be determined. BYU has a 6-5 record in the tournament including its impressive run last season advancing to the quarterfinal round before losing to eventual champion California in Berkeley. It is the second consecutive and sixth overall appearance in the WNIT for BYU (1982, 1999, 2001, 2005, 2010 and 2011).

TCU (22-10), the 2011 MWC regular season runner-up, earned an at-large bid to the WNIT. The Horned Frogs will host Oral Roberts in the first round on Thursday, March 17 at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas. Start time has yet to be determined. TCU is making just its second appearance in the WNIT. The Horned Frogs went 2-1 in the 2008 Tournament.

Wyoming (22-8), the third-place finishers in the MWC this season, earned an at-large bid to the WNIT. The Cowgirls will host Portland State in the first round on Wednesday, March 16 at Arena-Auditorium in Laramie, Wyo. Game time is set for 7 p.m. MT. Wyoming is making its second consecutive and sixth overall appearance in the WNIT (1999, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2011). The Cowgirls hold an 8-6 record in the tournament and won the 2007 WNIT title.

Mountain West Conference Women's Basketball Postseason Schedule

Wednesday, March 16
Portland State at Wyoming (WNIT), 7 p.m. MT

Thursday, March 17
Denver at BYU (WNIT), TBA
Oral Roberts at TCU (WNIT), TBA

Saturday, March 19
No. 2 seed Notre Dame at No. 15 seed Utah (NCAA), 4:30 p.m. MT