CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The crowd gathered at Big River Grille Monday night erupted as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team discovered its fate in the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Mocs are a No. 11 seed and will head to College Station, Texas, to take on No. 6 seed Nebraska.
Tipoff is set for Saturday, March 23, at 6:30 p.m. (E.D.T.) at the Reed Arena on the campus of Texas A&M. The game will also broadcast live online on ESPN3.
Chattanooga received the Southern Conference automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after claiming its SoCon-record 14th league tournament crown. The Lady Mocs posted a 19-1 SoCon mark and a school-record-tying 29-3 overall record. UTC is in the midst of a 19-game winning streak, the fourth longest in school history and tied for the seventh longest in the nation.
The Lady Mocs and Nebraska (23-8, 12-4 B1G) have only met once before. UTC defeated the Huskers 79-64 in Chattanooga on Nov. 21, 1979. Nebraska lost to Purdue in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament on March 9, but are still ranked No. 24 in the latest Associated Press Top-25.
Chattanooga is 1-10 in its 10 NCAA appearances. The Lady Mocs defeated Rutgers 74-69 in 2004 at the McKenzie Arena. Current assistant coach Katie Galloway Burrows was a member of that team.
This is the Lady Mocs second-highest seed school history. They were a No. 10 in 2004 and have been a No. 12 seven times. UTC was also a No. 13 in 2002 and its last trip in 2010.
Only two of Chattanooga's current players have played in the NCAA Tournament. Senior Kylie Lambert and Kayla Christopher were on the 2010 team that faced off against Oklahoma State in Tempe, Ariz.
Head coach Wes Moore has taken Chattanooga to the Big Dance nine times. He is 358-112 in 15 years in the Scenic City and 558-168 in 24 years as a collegiate head coach. He is the only coach in NCAA history to take different schools to the NCAA Division I, II and III tournaments.
Davidson To Face Old Dominion in Women's NIT
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Making its second straight postseason appearance, the Davidson women’s basketball team drew Old Dominion of the Colonial Athletic Association for the first round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament as announced by the WNIT late Monday night.
The ‘Cats take their 21-12 record to Norfolk, Va., Thursday, March 21 for their first round matchup against the Lady Monarchs. Game time will be set Tuesday, March 19, by the WNIT. For ticket information, please contact ODU’s ticket office at 757-683-4444. The winner will face either Charlotte or Appalachian State in the second round, March 23-25.
Davidson, which also participated in the Preseason WNIT this year, earned the Southern Conference’s automatic bid into the Women’s NIT after finishing second with a 16-4 record. This is the Wildcats’ third trip to the tournament, and second in as many years.
Davidson is coming off a 2-1 showing at the SoCon Tournament, March 8-11. It reached the finals for the just the second time in program history, dropping a heartbreaker to Chattanooga in the final seconds, 64-63. The Wildcats reached the finals with a 70-47 quarterfinal triumph vs. UNCG and then scored a 71-61 victory against Elon in the semis.
Two-time SoCon Player of the Year Sophia Aleksandravicius (16.1 ppg / SoCon-best 10 rpg) and two-time All-SoCon First Team member (coaches) Laura Murray (12.6 ppg) were each named to the SoCon All-Tournament First Team.
In last year's WNIT game, the Wildcats traveled to James Madison. They held a one-point advantage in the second half, but JMU used a 19-7 run midway through the half to take control and went on for 64-49 victory.
Old Dominion finished its season at 19-11, 10-8 in the CAA. It dropped its final two games of the season at James Madison and at Northeastern. The Lady Monarchs, who are coached by former Elon Phoenix head coach Karen Barefoot, went 12-4 on their home court. They are led by Shae Kelley (13.2 ppg / 8.5 rpg), who was named to the All-CAA Second Team and to the All-Defensive Team, and senior guard Jackie Cook (team-best 13.8 ppg), who earned third-team All-CAA honors.
The 64-team field features 31 teams that earned an automatic berth, and 33 teams that were chosen as an at-large. The Postseason WNIT will open with first-round games Wednesday through Friday, March 20-22. The event culminates Saturday, April 6 with the championship game, which will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network. All games are hosted by participating schools.
Elon Hosts Eastern Kentucky in WBI
ELON, N.C. – After an impressive 18-13 season that included program-best 14-6 record in the Southern Conference and an appearance in the conference tournament semifinals, the Elon women’s basketball team has accepted an invitation to play in the 2013 Women’s Basketball Invitational.
Fourth-seeded Elon will host fifth-seeded Eastern Kentucky in the first round of the WBI on Wednesday, March 20, at 7 p.m. in Alumni Gym. If the Phoenix advances, the quarterfinals will take place on March 23 or 24.
This marks Elon’s second appearance in the WBI after making its first Division I post-season appearance in the tournament in 2011. Elon was given a No. 3 seed and a first-round home matchup against sixth-seeded USC Upstate. The maroon and gold claimed a 103-72 win over the Spartans before falling to eventual WBI champion UAB in the quarterfinals.
The WBI is a 16-team, single elimination tournament that was created in 2010 to address additional post-season opportunities for women’s college teams who did not make the NCAA tournament field. The WBI tournament bracket is an East/West format with each side seeded 1-8. The semifinals, or third round, will be played March 27/28 with the 2013 WBI Championship game set for March 30 or 31.
Appalachian State Travels to Charlotte for First Round WNIT Action
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State women’s basketball will compete in the postseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament after earning a berth into the 64-team field released late Monday evening.
The Mountaineers (20-10) will face in-state rival UNC Charlotte (24-5) for a first round matchup on Friday, March 22. Tipoff and ticket information will be announced Tuesday.
The 49ers advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2013 Buick Atlantic 10 Championship before dropping a 48-47 loss to Temple University on March 9. The WNIT bid marks the 11th straight postseason campaign for the 49ers.
The Mountaineers met Charlotte in one previous meeting under Head Coach Darcie Vincent, with the 49ers taking the 74-57 decision on Nov. 20, 2009.
Monday’s selection places Appalachian in its third consecutive WNIT appearance under Coach Vincent, who has led the Mountaineers to four straight postseason appearances in her five seasons at Appalachian State.
Vincent guided the Mountaineers to a WBI Championship in her second season with the team (2009-10), and this year’s bid will mark Appalachian’s fourth WNIT appearance since the tournament’s inception in 1969. The Mountaineers dropped a tough first round loss in 2011 to South Carolina (67-54), but advanced to the tournament’s sweet sixteen last season, where they eventually fell to Virginia (74-58).
Women’s basketball also made an appearance in the 1987 NWIT, which is no longer contested, reaching the third round before falling in a six point loss to DePaul (88-82).
The 2013 WNIT field includes 31 teams that earn an automatic berth and 33 teams that receive an at-large bid. The postseason tournament will open with first round games Wednesday through Friday, March 20-22.
College of Charleston to Face Northern Kentucky in WBI
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Following a record setting season the College of Charleston women’s basketball team has been selected for the Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI) postseason tournament and will open play on the road at Northern Kentucky on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.
This will be the Cougars (15-15, 11-9) second appearance in the WBI and first time playing in the postseason since the 2009-10 season when they advanced to the final four of the WBI before losing to Appalachian State.
Northern Kentucky University is located about seven miles outside of Cincinnati, Ohio and the Northern Kentucky Norse are members of the Atlantic Sun conference.
This will be the Cougars first all-time meeting against Northern Kentucky, who finished the season 15-12 overall and 12-6 in conference play. The Norse finished fourth in the Atlantic Sun.
The Cougars finished the regular season with 15 wins, making it the fourth time in the last 15 years that had won at least 15 games. After being picked 10th in the coaches’ preseason poll, The Cougars finished fifth-place and earned a bye in the Southern Conference Tournament. It was the fourth time in the last 15 years the Cougars had finished fifth or better in the SoCon.