Pairings Announced for SAC Tournament, No. 6 Lady Eagles Travel to No. 3 Lenoir-Rhyne

ROCK HILL, SC - The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles are the No. 6 seed and will travel to No. 3 Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday for the for the first round of the 2011 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament.

The Lady Eagles and Bears split two regular season matchups with both road teams winning.

The Tusculum College women's basketball team, the defending Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament champion, is the top seed for the 2011 tournament. 

The Pioneers (14-4 SAC, 18-8 overall) will face eighth-seed Anderson University (7-11 SAC, 11-15) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Anderson will be playing in its first SAC tournament.

Tusculum, which advanced to the NCAA Women's Elite Eight last season, won the conference title for the third time in the past four years. Tusculum and Anderson split their regular-season meetings, with Tusculum winning 76-52 in Greeneville, Tenn., and Anderson winning 67-65 in Anderson, S.C.

Wingate University is the second seed. The Bulldogs (12-6 SAC, 17-9), will face seventh-seed Catawba College (9-9 SAC, 15-13) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Wingate and Catawba split their regular-season series, with Catawba winning 58-56 at home, while Wingate won 60-58 at home.

Lenoir-Rhyne University is the third seed. The Bears (11-7 SAC, 14-12) will host sixth-seed Carson-Newman College (9-9 SAC, 13-15) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Bears and the Eagles split their season series, with Carson-Newman winning 70-61 at Lenoir-Rhyne, while the Bears won 71-64 at Carson-Newman.

Lenoir-Rhyne tied with Newberry for third place in the standings at 11-7. Lenoir-Rhyne earned the third seed by sweeping Newberry.

Carson-Newman tied with Catawba for sixth place. Carson-Newman and Catawba split during the regular season and both were 0-2 against Tusculum. Carson-Newman swept second-seed Wingate, while Catawba split against Wingate, giving Carson-Newman the sixth seed.

Newberry is the fourth seed. The Wolves (11-7 SAC, 16-10) will host fifth-seed Mars Hill College (10-8 SAC, 17-9) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The two teams split during the regular season, with Mars Hill winning 70-68 at Newberry, with Newberry winning 83-72 at Mars Hill.

Quarterfinal winners advance to the tournament semifinals, which will be held at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, N.C. on Saturday, with games at Noon and 2:30 p.m. The Tusculum vs. Anderson winner will face the Newberry vs. Mars Hill winner at noon. The Wingate vs. Catawba winner will face the Lenoir-Rhyne vs. Carson-Newman winner at 2:30 p.m.

Sunday's women's championship will be at 2 p.m.

Tickets for quarterfinal games are $6 for adults, $3 for children, students and college students with ID. Tickets for semifinal and championship rounds are $10 for adults and $5 for children, students and college students with ID.

Fans showing the Food Lion MVP card can save $1 off the price of an adult ticket for the quarterfinals ($5 with Food Lion MVP card) and the semifinals and championship ($9 with Food Lion MVP card).

The winner of the women's tournament will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II playoffs.

WOMEN
Wednesday, March 2
Food Lion SAC Tournament, Quarterfinals, Home of Higher Seed
No. 8 Anderson at No. 1 Tusculum, 7 pm
No. 7 Catawba at No. 2 Wingate, 6 pm
No. 6 Carson-Newman at No. 3 Lenoir-Rhyne, 7 pm
No. 5 Mars Hill at No. 4 Newberry, 6 pm 

Saturday, March 5
Food Lion SAC Tournament, Semifinals, CVCC Arena, Hickory, NC
Anderson/Tusculum winner vs. Mars Hill/Newberry winner, Noon
Catawba/Wingate winner vs. Carson-Newman/Lenoir-Rhyne winner, 2:30 pm

Sunday, March 6
Food Lion SAC Tournament Championship, CVCC Arena, Hickory, NC
Semifinal winners, 2 pm