Campbellsville University women’s basketball will return to the NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament for the 21st time in program history, March 13-19, in Frankfort at the Frankfort Convention Center.
The Lady Tigers (24-9) enter the tournament ranked No. 14 in the NAIA and will be a No. 4 seed, the NAIA national office announced Wednesday night. CU will meet Wiley College (28-3) in the first round Wednesday, March 13 at 8 p.m. EST. It will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
(Photo from Campbellsville University)
“We are glad to know who we play and when. We are thrilled about the start of the tournament and ready to get started,” said Campbellsville head coach Ginger Colvin. “I’m pleased with where we are (in the rankings) – Top 15 with nine loses. You probably look at that and think you don’t deserve to be in the Top 15, but three of those loses are to the No. 6 team in the country.”
Campbellsville is one of six Mid-South Conference teams that qualified for the 32-team bracket.
“I think it says a lot about our conference and the strength of it. I think it’s really nice that the raters acknowledged it. I know we have a couple of those teams with double-digit losses, but I think they took into account that a lot of those losses were to a really, really tough conference,” said Colvin, who also serves as the rater for the MSC.
St. Catharine College and University of the Cumberlands finished the season receiving votes in the poll to earn a No. 7 and No. 8 seed, respectively, in the tournament. Shawnee State University has a five-seed, while Georgetown College and Campbellsville have four seeds. MSC champion Cumberland University is a No. 2 seed.
“I think Cumberland U was probably the least loved team (nationally) in our conference. We’ve been to the NAIA Tournament 20 times, and I’ve seen a lot of basketball played. I’ve seen a lot of national championship teams, and Cumberland U stacks up with any of those teams,” Colvin said. “I don’t want to play them anymore. We played them three times and never could get over the hump with them. I’m a little disappointed they didn’t get a one-seed. I thought they deserved. It’s nice to see Shawnee State, Georgetown and us right there in that mix also. We got hot late, which helped us, and hopefully we can keep on rolling. I still believe any of the six of us can make a run.
“I think St. Cats was close to getting in last year. I’m glad to see them get in because they’re super talented. University of the Cumberlands traditionally has been in the national tournament. I know they’ve had a little bit of tough luck with some injuries this year, so it’s nice to see them in the national tournament. You compete against each other all year long, but now I want our conference to go and do well. Nothing would please me more than to see these six teams in the Sweet 16 and then just keep on moving.”
The winner of the first round game between Campbellsville and Wiley will face top-ranked Freed-Hardeman University or West Virginia University Tech on Friday at 6:15 p.m. EST. The earliest CU could face a Mid-South Conference team would be in the Fab Four semifinal, as St. Catharine and University of the Cumberlands are also in the top half of the bracket.
The championship tournament tips off Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 8:30 a.m. on day one and 9 a.m. on days two and three, with eight games scheduled each day. Quarterfinal action tips off at 2 p.m. on March 16 with the semifinals slated for March 18 at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. The championship final, which will be televised live on CBS Sports Network, will start at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 19.
All games will be streamed live online via NeuLion, the NAIA’s official video streaming company. NeuLion will be broadcasting the first 30 games prior to the final. An all-tournament pass (30 games) is available for $29.95, while a single day pass can be purchased for $9.95. For more information and to pre-register, click here.
From Campbellsville University
Source:
http://www.kyforward.com/our-sports/2013/03/07/four-kentucky-womens-basketball-teams-set-for-naia-championships-in-frankfort/
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