ROCK HILL, S.C. --- The Tusculum University women's basketball team will host Lenoir-Rhyne University in the quarterfinals of the 2023 South Atlantic Conference Women's Basketball Championship tournament on Wednesday evening at Pioneer Arena.
Tip-off for the Pioneers and Bears will be at 5:30 p.m., followed by a men's quarterfinal game between Tusculum and Wingate at 7:30 p.m.
Admission to Wednesday's SAC Quarterfinal doubleheader is $8 for adults, $5 for youth ages 6-12, seniors age 65 and older, and $5 for active and retired members of the military. College students with valid ID will be admitted for $2. Children ages 5 and under will be admitted free. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday prior to the women's quarterfinal.
Tickets are available to purchase on-line at: https://www.tusculumpioneers.com/information/tickets. No cash sales will be permitted at the gate.
Tusculum University students must go on-line to their Hometown Ticketing APP to secure their ticket, which will be covered by the Tusculum athletic department. No complimentary tickets or pass lists will be available, although SAC passes issued through Hometown Ticketing will be honored.
Live video, statistics and audio of Wednesday's SAC Quarterfinal doubleheader at Tusculum will be available through links at www.TusculumPioneers.com, with local radio coverage provided through the Pioneer Sports Network on 95.5 FM and 1450 AM (WSMG).
THE MATCHUP
The Pioneers finished second in the SAC Mountain Division behind Carson-Newman, ending the year 11-7 in conference play and 20-8 overall. The Bears were third in the SAC Piedmont Division at 11-7 in the league and 21-7 overall. The Bears beat the Pioneers 73-66 at Pioneer Arena on Feb. 11, snapping a 10-game losing streak to the Pioneers and a five-game skid at Pioneer Arena.
Wednesday's game will be the fourth postseason meeting between the Pioneers and Bears, with Tusculum holding a 2-1 lead. Lenoir-Rhyne beat Tusculum 66-57 in the 2009 SAC finals, while Tusculum earned a 77-63 victory in the 2010 SAC semifinals and a 59-51 overtime win in the 2013 SAC semifinals.
Tusculum has won four SAC Championship tournament titles (2010, 2011, 2020, 2021) while Lenoir-Rhyne has won championships in 2003 and 2009. The Bears have lost five straight road quarterfinal games since 2015, and the Pioneers have not lost a home quarterfinal game since 2012. Tusculum leads the all-time series 30-24 over Lenoir-Rhyne, including a 17-9 mark at home.
THE REST OF THE TOURNAMENT
Carson-Newman and Catawba are the top seeds in their halves of the SAC Championship tournament bracket by virtue of winning their respective division titles. The Eagles (17-11, 12-6 SAC) are the Mountain Division championship while the Indians (24-4, 16-2 SAC) took the Piedmont Division crown.
Joining Tusculum as a number-two seed in the field is Wingate (21-6, 14-4 SAC), with Lincoln Memorial (16-11, 9-9 SAC) and Lenoir-Rhyne taking the third seeds. The fourth seeds are Limestone (14-14, 9-9 SAC) out of the Mountain Division and Anderson (16-12, 10-8) from the Piedmont Division.
The 2023 SAC Women's Basketball Championship quarterfinals will be played at campus sites on Wednesday before moving to Timmons Arena in Greenville, South Carolina for the semifinals and finals on March 4 and 5. The SAC Tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament.
2023 SAC Women's Basketball Championship
Wednesday, March 1 (Campus Sites at Higher Seeds)
Game 1: #4P Anderson at #1M Carson-Newman, 7 p.m.
Game 2: #3M Lincoln Memorial at #2P Wingate, 7 p.m.
Game 3: #4M Limestone at #1P Catawba, 5:30 p.m.
Game 4: #3P Lenoir-Rhyne at #2M Tusculum, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 4 (Timmons Arena, Greenville, S.C.)
Game 5: winner game 1 vs. winner game 2, 12 p.m.
Game 6: winner game 3 vs. winner game 4, 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 5 (Timmons Arena, Greenville, S.C.)
Game 7: winner game 5 vs. winner game 6, 1 p.m.
