FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Austin Peay State University women's basketball team will face Purdue in its opening game of the 2010 Preseason Women's National Invitational Tournament, tournament organizers announced, Wednesday.

The game, to be hosted by Purdue, is scheduled to tipoff at 4 p.m. (CT), Friday, Nov. 12 as the first game of the tournament. It is a rematch of the 2002 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament contest between the two teams, a game Purdue won 80-49 - the only previous meeting between the two teams.

"We're excited to be invited to the Preseason WNIT," said Lady Govs head coach Carrie Daniels. "Being from Indiana I'm looking forward to facing a team from my home state. Purdue is a tremendous program that has a lot of rich tradition. We know it will be a tough game and we'll have to be ready to play." 

Austin Peay will return four starters from last season's squad, which won a second consecutive Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball tournament title. The Lady Govs were 15-18 overall but rallied to a third-place finish in the OVC regular-season race with an 11-7 record before posting three straight victories in the OVC tournament.

It will be the Lady Govs second-ever appearance in the preseason WNIT. They were selected to the 1997 event following the program's first-ever NCAA tournament appearance. Austin Peay lost that only previous appearance at Tennessee.

Purdue posted a 15-17 record last season and advanced to the second round of the Postseason WNIT, defeating Eastern Michigan in the first round before falling to Illinois State. The Boilermakers return junior Brittany Rayburn who averaged a team-best 14.6 points per game last season. They add incoming freshman Courtney Moses, the Indianapolis Star's 2010 Indiana Miss Basketball selection.

The 2010 Preseason WNIT will guarantee the Lady Govs three games. First-round winners continue on to play the second round, Nov. 14-15, followed by the semifinals, Nov. 17-18, and championship, Nov. 21.

First-round losers will play two consolation games, Nov. 19-20. All games will be hosted by participating teams and sites will be announced prior to the preceding round.

-AP-