University of Houston Athletics
C-USA Announces Women's Basketball Championship Bracket
3/2/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 2, 2009
IRVING, Texas - Conference USA regular-season champion SMU looks to defend its title as the 2009 C-USA Women's Basketball Championship kicks off this week in New Orleans. SMU, UTEP, Southern Miss and Houston have all earned first-round byes after a successful regular season, but once the tournament begins, anything is possible.
2009 C-USA Women's Basketball Championship Bracket
The four-day event tips off on Thursday, March 5, and will conclude with the title game on ESPN2 on Sunday, March 8, inside Fogelman Arena on the University of Tulane campus.
With its second-best scorer and rebounder on the bench, SMU picked up two critically important Conference USA wins during the final days of regular season play. The victories helped the Mustangs clinch the No. 1 seed. With a league-best record of 12-4, the Mustangs also received a first-round bye and will await the winner of No. 8 seed East Carolina (17-12, 8-8 C-USA) and No. 9 seed UAB (10-18, 5-11 C-USA). The Lady Pirates and the Blazers tip off tournament action on Thursday at Noon.
Following the No. 8-9 game is No. 5 seed UCF (12-16, 11-5 C-USA) and No. 12 seed Rice (7-22, 2-14 C-USA) at 2:30 p.m. The Knights have gone from being the No. 12 seed a year ago to finishing in a four-way tie for second in the league standings with UTEP, Houston and Southern Miss this season. UCF was edged out by Houston (19-9, 11-5 C-USA) for the No. 4 seed due to the league's tie-breakers, which came down to head-to-head results. Houston defeated UCF, 80-65, earlier this season.
Opening the night session at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday will be host and No. 6 seed Tulane (17-13, 9-7 C-USA). The Green Wave was a dangerous threat every night out. Their average margin of loss was just 6.7 points. Tulane enters the championship with the most tournament (4) and regular season (3) titles of any C-USA team. They will face a hungry Tulsa (7-21, 3-13 C-USA) team that earned the No. 11 seed but defeated Houston just two weeks ago.
The winner of the Tulane/Tulsa game will face Southern Miss. The Lady Eagles (18-11, 11-5 C-USA) ended the regular season tie for second-place but earned the No. 3 seed. Southern Miss, the C-USA preseason favorite, missed its opportunity for a No. 1 seed with an overtime loss to Memphis in its final regular season game Saturday.
Wrapping up opening day action will be No. 7 seed Marshall (15-14, 8-8 C-USA) and No. 10 seed Memphis (12-17, 5-11 C-USA) at 8 p.m. The Thundering Herd has won three of its last four games, while four of Memphis' five C-USA wins came on the road. Under first-year head coach Melissa McFerrin, the Lady Tigers enter tournament action riding a 77-74 overtime win over a tough Southern Miss team.
The winner of Marshall and Memphis will face one of the hottest clubs entering tournament play in No. 2 seed UTEP (18-11, 11-5 C-USA) at 8 p.m. on Friday March 8. The Miners have won six of their last seven games.
The winner of this week's event will automatically qualified for the NCAA Women's Championship, which begins in mid-March. SMU has already qualified for a postseason tournament. If the Mustangs fail to reach the NCAAs by winning the C-USA tournament or by receiving an at-large bid, they will automatically be entered into the Women's National Invitational Tournament after winning the regular-season crown.
Tickets for the 2009 Conference USA Women's Basketball Championship are available at the Tulane Ticket Office by calling 504-861-WAVE, or visiting TulaneGreenWave.com and through your local C-USA institution box office. For additional women's basketball championship information, visit conferenceusa.com.
2009 C-USA CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET
FIRST ROUNDS - THURSDAY, MARCH 5
Morning Session
Game 1: (8) East Carolina vs. (9) UAB, 12 p.m.
Game 2: (5) UCF vs. (12) Rice, 2:30 p.m.
Afternoon Session
Game 3: (6) Tulane vs. (11) Tulsa, 5:30 p.m.
Game 4: (7) Marshall vs. (10) Memphis, 8 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS - FRIDAY, MARCH 6
Morning Session
Game 5: winner G1 vs. (1) SMU, 12 p.m.
Game 6: winner G2 vs. (4) Houston, 2:30 p.m.
Afternoon Session
Game 7: winner G3 vs. (3) Southern Miss, 5:30 p.m.
Game 8: winner G4 vs. (2) UTEP, 8 p.m.
SEMIFINALS - SATURDAY, MARCH 7
Game 9: Game 9 - winner of game 5 & 6 (CBS C), 2:00 p.m.
Game 10: Game 10 - winner of game 7 & 8 (CBS C), 4:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP - SUNDAY, MARCH 8
Game 11: Game 11 - winner of game 9 & 10 (ESPN2), 2:30 p.m.
All times Central.
GENERAL ADMISSION TICKET PRICES ARE:
All Sessions: Adult $50; Youth $40 ... Single Session: Adult $10; Youth $7
C-USA CHAMPIONS
Below is a chart listing Conference USA's regular season and tournament winners in the league's 13 years.
Year / Tournament / Regular Season Champ
2009 / TBD / SMU
2008 / SMU / UTEP
2007 / East Carolina / Tulane
2006 / Tulsa / Tulsa
2005 / TCU / DePaul
2004 / Houston / Houston
2003 / TCU / Charlotte
2002 / Cincinnati / TCU
2001 / Tulane / Louisville
2000 / Tulane / Marquette
1999 / Tulane / Cincinnati, Louisville, Marquette, Tulane
1998 / Memphis / Memphis
1997 / Tulane / Tulane, Louisville, Memphis
1996 / Memphis / DePaul
