SAC Sends Four Women’s Basketball Teams To NCAA Tournament

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Four women's basketball teams from the South Atlantic Conference have been selected to the NCAA Division II Tournament.

Lenoir-Rhyne University, Carson-Newman College and Newberry College all received at-large bids and will join Tusculum College, which received an automatic bid after winning the 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament championship on Sunday.

Conference champion Lenoir-Rhyne is seeded fourth and will face the fifth-seeded Lady Eagles of Carson-Newman College on Friday, March 12, in Greenwood, S.C. Lander University (24-3), the top seed, will serve as the host institution.

Lenoir-Rhyne (21-7) has earned a trip to the NCAA Division II Playoffs for the second straight season and third in school history. The Bears won the 2009-10 South Atlantic Conference regular season championship and advanced to the semifinals of the 2010 league tournament.

Carson-Newman (23-6) will participate in the national tournament for the second straight year and the fourth time since 2005. The Bears defeated the Lady Eagles in both regular season matchups this year.

Newberry (21-8) is the sixth seed and will play No. 3 Francis Marion in the opening round.

Newberry returns to the tournament for the first time since making the tournament for three consecutive seasons from 2005 to 2007. Newberry compiled a 19-7 in-region record to lock up the sixth seed despite falling in Sunday's Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament championship game to Tusculum

The winner of Newberry's game against Francis Marion will face the winner of No. 2 Clayton State and No. 7 Tusculum in the second round.

The Pioneers (20-9), who are making their third straight NCAA postseason appearance, will open first round action this Friday against second-seeded Clayton State University (24-6).

Tusculum won Sunday's Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament championship game by defeating Newberry College, 67-55 to earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. It was the Pioneers' first SAC Tournament championship in school history.

Friday's first round game with Clayton State will mark the second time the Pioneers and Lakers have met this year. CSU edged Tusculum 87-79 in overtime at the OrthoCarolina Classic in Wingate, N.C. on Dec. 19. It will also be a rematch of last season's second round regional contest with CSU as the Lakers posted a 79-68 win over the Pioneers in Hickory, N.C. The Pioneers are 0-4 all-time against Clayton State.

The Pioneers are riding a six-game winning streak entering this year's NCAA Tournament and have also won 11 of its last 13 outings for first-year head coach Adell Harris.

Leading the charge for Tusculum is South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year Jasmine Gunn. The 4-11 junior guard from Nashville, Tenn., is averaging 20.7 points, five assists and three steals per game. She is the only player in NCAA Division II this season to be ranked in the top 25 nationally in points, assists and steals. In her three SAC Tournament games, she averaged 24.7 points per contest, earning her SAC Tournament Most Valuable Player honors.

Clayton State is making their sixth straight NCAA postseason appearance as the 24th-ranked Lakers won the Peach Belt Conference Tournament by knocking off 18th-ranked Francis Marion University, 94-75 in Sunday's PBC title game. Clayton State is the defending Southeast Regional champion as the Lakers advanced to last year's NCAA II Elite Eight.

Hosting this year's regional is Lander as the Bearcats will open against No. 8 seed Anderson University.

Game times, ticket prices and other pertinent information will be released as it becomes available.

The quarterfinal round takes place on Friday, March 12, with the semifinals slated for Saturday, March 13. The regional championship is scheduled for Monday, March 15, with the winner advancing to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in St. Joseph, Mo.

2010 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Southeast Regional Tournament
March 12-13 & 15, 2010
Greenwood, S.C. - Horne Arena

Quarterfinal Round - March 12, 2010
No. 1 Lander (24-3) vs. No. 8 Anderson (20-10)
No. 4 Lenoir-Rhyne (21-7) vs. No. 5 Carson-Newman (22-6)
No. 3 Francis Marion (24-4) vs. No. 6 Newberry (19-7)
No. 2 Clayton State (23-6) vs. No. 7 Tusculum (19-9)

Semifinal Round - March 13, 2010
No. 1 Lander/No. 8 Anderson winner vs. No. 4 Lenoir-Rhyne/No. 5 Carson-Newman winner
No. 3 Francis Marion/No. 6 Newberry winner vs. No. 2 Clayton State/No. 7 Tusculum winner

March 15, 2010
Regional Championship