BOONE, N.C. – The North Texas women's basketball team looks to become the 10th champion of the Women's Basketball Invitational when it faces Appalachian State in the WBI final Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. CST inside the Holmes Center. 
 
About the Mean Green (18-15, 7-9 C-USA)
North Texas continues its quest for a WBI championship following wins over UTRGV, Utah State and North Alabama. UNT captured its first back-to-back winning seasons in 17 years with the 56-54 win over USU March 26. 
 
All Conference USA First Team selection Terriell Bradley leads the Mean Green with a 15.6 scoring average. Anisha George, a C-USA All-Defensive Team pick, contributes 10.3 points per contest and 6.9 rebounds, while Grace Goodhart averages 6.1 points for UNT. Brittany Smith hands out 3.2 assists, while Trena Mims boasts a 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
About Appalachian State (21-14, 10-8 Sun Belt)
The Mountaineers made their way to the WBI Finals with wins over UNC Asheville, Marshall and Campbell following a loss to Little Rock in the semifinals of the SBC Tournament. The team has won nine of its last 11 contests. 
 
Madi Story averages a team-high 12.2 points, Pre Stanley tallies 11.0 and Lainey Gosnell puts up 10.3. Bayley Plummer, a third team All-Sun Belt honoree, anchors the middle by posting team-highs of 12.6 rebounds, the seventh-best output in the nation, and 1.4 blocks. The Mountaineers have pulled down 1,489 total rebounds this season to rank seventh in the country.
 
History between the squads
Wednesday's matchup will be the first between the two squads.
 
About the WBI
In its 10th year, the Women's Basketball Invitational provides a choice for postseason worthy Division I Women's teams who wish to continue their season but who do not qualify for the NCAA tournament. The 16-team event will take place over two weeks with all games being played on campus sites.
 
This season's bracket consisted of: UC Riverside, Utah State, UNT, UTRGV, Southern Miss, Nicholls, North Alabama, Georgia State, Tennessee Tech, Akron, Coastal Carolina, Campbell, UNC Asheville, Appalachian State, Davidson and Marshall.
 
2019 WBI Dates
March 18 – WBI Tournament Selection and Bracket Released
March 20-21 – First Round
March 24-25 – Second Round
March 29-30 – Semifinals
April 2 or 3 – Championship 
 
Past Champions
2010: Appalachian State
2011: UAB
2012: Minnesota
2013: Detroit
2014: UIC
2015: Louisiana Lafayette
2016: Louisiana Lafayette
2017: Rice
2018: Yale
 
Mean Green in the postseason
UNT has competed beyond its conference tournament on four occasions with the lone win occurring this season.
 
3/12/86           NCAA Tournament      Washington                L, 69-54
3/16/01           WNIT                           Oklahoma St.             L, 79-67
3/14/02           WNIT                           Washington                L, 82-61
3/20/19           WBI                             UTGRV                       W, 56-42
3/26/19           WBI                             Utah State                  W, 56-54
3/29/19           WBI                             North Alabama           W, 56-53
 
Lucky 56
The Mean Green have scored 56 points three times this season. All three instances have occurred during UNT's three WBI wins. On the season, the team is averaging 63.4 points. 
 
Longest season on record
The Mean Green will have competed in 34 contests come the end of 2018-19, the most games ever played in a single season. North Texas compiled 32 total contests in 2007-08 (14-18), and 31 total contests in 2017-18 (17-14), 2016-17 (12-19), 2009-10 (9-22) and 1978-79 (16-15).
 
Winning seasons
With the win over Utah State March 26, UNT clinched the 12^thwinning season in the 42 years of the modern era of North Texas women's basketball and are now 18-15. The Mean Green have surpassed the 17 wins from last season to produce back-to-back seasons over .500 for the first time since 2000-01 and 2001-02. The 18 wins in 2018-19 mark the highest total since 2005-06 when the team went 19-9. 
 
Home court advantage
UNT's 2018-19 record in The Pit stands at 12-6, while it has amassed a 6-9 mark in other gyms. North Texas averages 67.9 points in Denton and are outscoring opponents by 9.6. On the road, that average drops to 55.9 points as the Mean Green are being outscored by 3.8. As the home team, UNT grabs 7.2 more rebounds per contest and boasts a 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
Back at home
The Mean Green have compiled a 5-1 record when returning to The Super Pit following a road tilt this season. North Texas has won home contests after returning from a trip with victories over Missouri State, CSU Bakersfield, UTEP, FAU and UTRGV.
 
History at C-USA Tourney
The Mean Green made their fifth appearance at the Conference USA tournament in 2019 and hold a 6-5 all-time record. Since head coach Jalie Mitchell took over the program before the 2015-16 season, UNT and Rice are the only programs to have won at least one contest in the conference tournament each season.
 
All-Time History in Conference Tourneys
The Mean Green made four appearances in the Southland Tournament from 1985-86 to 1995-96 without attaining a victory. From the 1997-98 to the 1999-2000 seasons, North Texas went 1-3 in the Big West and grabbed its first conference tourney win in a 71-68 triumph over UC Irvine March 3, 1999. UNT competed in 20 tournament games while in the Sun Belt and achieved eight wins between 2000-01 and 2012-13.
 
Bradley, George Earn C-USA Honors
Terriell Bradley of North Texas was named to the Conference USA First Team for a second time, and Anisha George was voted to the All-Defensive Team.
 
Bradley, also a first team selection last season, is the fourth-leading scorer in C-USA at 16.7 points per game. The redshirt senior guard ranks top 10 in the league in: 3-point percentage (seventh, 38.5), 3-pointers made per game (seventh, 1.8), and free throw percentage (eighth, 77.6). Bradley also averages 4.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.4 steals. Bradley is the only Mean Green to ever receive C-USA First Team honors.
 
George made an immediate impact inside during her first season with the Mean Green. The post from St. Croix, Virgin Islands, is ranked within the top 10 in Conference USA in several categories: offensive rebounds per game (2nd, 3.5), field goal percentage (third, .612), double-doubles (fifth, six), rebounds (sixth, 7.6), and blocked shots (seventh, 0.9). In 2018-19, George is averaging 11.1 points. George is the second player from North Texas to be named to the All-Defensive team, joining Kelsey Criner from the 2015-16 season.
 
Conference highs
The final three Mean Green conference wins produced several team season highs in league play this season. At home against Florida Atlantic Feb. 14, the 82 points, 46 rebounds, 10 3-pointers, 44.9 percent shooting, and the 41.7 percent showing on 3-pointers were the highest outputs by UNT versus league opponents this year. The 25-point triumph versus FIU Feb. 16 was the largest Mean Green margin of victory in C-USA play this year, and the 17 assists were the most distributed. The team also matched its high in steals with nine and rebounding margin of 13.
 
Sharing the scoring wealth
Nearly every Mean Green player who has seen the court this season has led or co-led the team in scoring at least once this season, proving that UNT has several potent offensive options. Terriell Bradley has posted the high score on 19 occasions, with Anisha George coming in next with eight. Grace Goodhart, Madison Townley and Callie Owens have each tallied a team-high twice, while Velma Mitchell, Charlene Shepherd, Brittany Smith and Deja Terrell have each garnered the distinction once.
 
Never ever had we ever…
Won at LA Tech, Southern Miss or Western Kentucky until the 2018-19 season. The Mean Green have achieved three milestones with victories in Ruston, La., Hattiesburg, Miss., and Bowling Green, Ky. Before picking up the wins this year, North Texas had gone 0-5 at LA Tech, 0-3 at Southern Miss, and 0-9 at WKU. 
 
Doubling up
The Mean Green have compiled seven double-doubles in 2018-19, with six from junior post Anisha George and the other by redshirt sophomore forward Madi Townley. 
 
Throughout the 2017-18 season, the team amassed five, one each from current players Terriell Bradley and Micayla Buckner. Two seasons ago, six double-doubles were accomplished, half of them coming from Bradley. 
 
Mitchell notches 50 career wins
With the 70-51 win over UTEP Jan. 10, head coach Jalie Mitchell placed herself alongside former UNT coaches Judy Nelson and Tina Slinker in the 50-win club. Mitchell also became the fastest to achieve the honor in program history.
 
Bradley enters top 10 in scoring
With her career-high 40-point performance against NDSU Nov. 24, Terriell Bradley has continued to show her offensive prowess with 30 points at SMU Nov. 28 and 36 versus Missouri State Dec. 1. She has elevated from 14^thinto fifth in the UNT career-scoring charts with 1,445 points. Head coach Jalie Mitchell's (1998-2002) record of sits at 1,764. 
 
Chart-topping Bradley
By sinking five free throws against Utah State March 26, Bradley dethroned head coach Jalie Mitchell for the top spot in the UNT charts in free throws made. Mitchell held the record of 411 for 17 years, and Bradley looks to add to her total of 413. 
 
Bradley is fifth all-time in 3-pointers made with 134. Ashley Norris (1995-2000) occupies the top spot with 197.
 
Bring on the OT
The Mean Green are 12-26 all-time in overtime games, but following the 83-76 win over Missouri State Dec. 1, North Texas has strung together six straight victories involving extra periods. The win over the Bears was UNT's third in program history inside The Super Pit in OT, as the team is now at 3-10 at home. Two seasons ago, North Texas pulled out wins in each of its four overtime contests, and went one-for-one in 2017-18.
 
Last outing for the Mean Green
DENTON (March 29, 2019) – North Texas women's basketball pulled out a 56-53 victory over North Alabama Friday night inside The Super Pit to advance to the championship game of the Women's Basketball Invitational in a balanced attack from the Mean Green. 
 
Brittany Smith scored a season-high 10 points, and Callie Owens also added 10 to share UNT scoring honors. Madison Townley was a force on both ends of the court by grabbing a career-best 14 rebounds, scoring seven points and drawing nine fouls, including taking a crucial charge late in the game.