Tusculum Earns Top Seed For Food Lion SAC Women’s Basketball Tournament
ROCK HILL, SC - The Tusculum College women's basketball team, which shared the South Atlantic Conference championship, is the top seed for the 2009 Food Lion SAC Women's Basketball Tournament, which begins Wednesday.
In one of the tightest races in conference history, two conference ties, including the top seed, could not be broken by normal tiebreaking procedures. A coin flip by SAC Commissioner Patrick Britz determined the top seed.
Tusculum (13-3 SAC, 23-4 overall) shared the conference championship with Lenoir-Rhyne University. The two teams split their two regular-season meetings and split their two regular-season meetings against the third seed, Newberry. Tusculum's third conference loss was to Carson-Newman, which tied for fourth place. Lenoir-Rhyne's third conference loss was to Wingate, which also tied for fourth place.
The Pioneers will face eighth-seed Lincoln Memorial University (5-11 SAC, 11-16) on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Lenoir-Rhyne (13-3 SAC, 23-4) won a conference title for the second time in school history. The Bears shared the title in 2004 in a three-way tie.
The Bears will face seventh-seed Mars Hill College (5-11 SAC, 12-15) at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. Mars Hill won the tiebreaker with LMU for the seventh seed by virtue of a split with third-seed Newberry. LMU lost both regular-season meetings with Newberry.
Newberry College is the third seed. Newberry (10-6 SAC, 17-10) finished alone in third place and will face sixth-seed Catawba College (8-8 SAC, 16-11) on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Carson-Newman College and Wingate University finished tied for fourth place at 9-7 in the conference. The two teams split their regular-season meetings.
Carson-Newman earned the fourth seed because it split two regular-season meetings against top-seed Tusculum. Carson-Newman (9-7 SAC, 18-9) will host Wingate (9-7, 18-9) in the first round Wednesday at 7 p.m. in a rematch of Saturday's regular-season finale. Wingate is the defending conference tournament champion.
Quarterfinal winners advance to the tournament semifinals, which will be held at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, N.C. on Saturday.
Tickets for quarterfinal games are $6 for adults, $3 for children, students and college students with ID. Tickets for semifinal and championship rounds are $10 for adults and $5 for children, students and college students with ID.
The men's and women's winners of the tournament will earn automatic bids to the NCAA Division II playoffs.
WOMEN
Wednesday, March 4
Food Lion SAC Tournament, Quarterfinals, Home of Higher Seed
No. 8 Lincoln Memorial at No. 1 Tusculum, 6 pm
No. 7 Mars Hill at No. 2 Lenoir-Rhyne, 6 pm
No. 6 Catawba at No. 3 Newberry, 6 pm
No. 5 Wingate at No. 4 Carson-Newman, 7 pm
Saturday, March 7
Food Lion SAC Tournament, Semifinals, CVCC Arena, Hickory, NC
Lincoln Memorial/Tusculum winner vs. Carson-Newman/Wingate winner,
1 pm
Lenoir-Rhyne/Mars Hill winner vs. Newberry/Catawba winner, 3 pm
Sunday, March 8
Food Lion SAC Tournament, Finals, CVCC Arena, Hickory, NC
Championship, 2 pm