INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --- Tusculum University has earned the fourth seed for the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament Southeast Regional, the NCAA announced Sunday night.
Tusculum will play Belmont Abbey in a quarterfinal game Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Finis Horne Arena on the campus of Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina. The Crusaders (27-3) are seeded fifth in the regional after winning the Conference Carolinas regular-season championship. Tusculum defeated Belmont Abbey 55-46 in the season opener for both teams on Nov. 8.
The Pioneers (24-7) received an automatic bid to the tournament by winning the Pilot/Flying J South Atlantic Conference Championship on Sunday with a 61-49 victory over Anderson. Tusculum is making its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance since joining Division II in 1999, and its first since 2012.
Tournament action will begin on Friday, March 13 with four quarterfinal games, followed by two semifinal games on Saturday, March 14. The Southeast Region championship will be played Monday, March 16 at 7 p.m., with the winner advancing to the Elite Eight in Birmingham, Alabama.
The winner of the Tusculum/Belmont Abbey game will face either top-seeded Lander (26-5) or eighth-seeded Limestone (23-8) in the semifinal round. The other half of the bracket consists of second seed North Georgia (26-5) against seventh-seeded Clayton State (20-10), and third seed Anderson (26-5) against sixth-seeded Carson-Newman (22-8).
In 2010, the Pioneers participated in the Southeast Regional at Lander and won the region championship, beating Clayton State, Francis Marion and the host Bearcats to earn the program's first trip to the Elite Eight. The Pioneers are 4-4 in their five previous trips to the NCAA Southeast Regional.
Visit tusculumpioneers.com for up-to-date information on the Southeast Regional.
NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
Southeast Regional at Greenwood, South Carolina
Friday, March 13 - Quarterfinals
#3 Anderson vs. #6 Carson-Newman, 12 noon
#2 North Georgia vs. #7 Clayton State, 2:30 pm
#1 Lander vs. #8 Limestone, 5:00 pm
#4 Tusculum vs. #5 Belmont Abbey, 7:30 pm
Saturday, March 14 - Semifinals
Anderson/Carson-Newman winner vs. North Georgia/Clayton State winner, 5:00 pm
Lander/Limestone winner vs. Tusculum/Belmont Abbey winner, 7:30 pm
Monday, March 16 - Finals
Semifinal winners, 7:00 pm
