LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – After winning a SCAC
championship in its first year in the league followed by the
school's first-ever appearance in the NCAA tournament, Texas
Lutheran University will attempt to defend its conference crown as
the league's top six teams descend upon Irving, Texas and the
campus of the University of Dallas for the 13th annual Southern
Collegiate Athletic Conference women’s basketball
tournament. Official
Tournament Website | Women's
Bracket
Three teams tied atop the SCAC standings with Southwestern
University, Texas Lutheran and Trinity University all finishing
with an 11-3 regular season conference mark. After working through
the league's seeding tiebreakers, Southwestern and TLU were tabbed
the first and second seeds, respectively, and both will receive
first-round byes.
Southwestern enters as the top seed after finishing the 2015
season with an overall record of 13-12 (11-3 in SCAC play) as well
as earning a share of the SCAC regular season title with both Texas
Lutheran and Trinity. Since joining the SCAC prior to the 1994-95
season, this marks the program's first-ever regular season women's
basketball title and its also the first time the Pirates have been
the tournament's overall No. 1 seed (The Pirates were the top-seed
from the West Division in 2011-12 when divisional play was used to
seed teams). Playing as the No. 3 seed a year ago,
Southwestern was upset by sixth-seeded Dallas in the
tournament quarterfinals. Leading the way for this year's squad is
senior Jordan Owens, a third team All-SCAC selection last season,
who is averaging 16.8 points per game (second in the SCAC). Fellow
senior Annie Bourne, who recently became the SCAC's all-time career
rebound leader, is averaging 11.1 points and a league-high 12.5
rebounds per game. Her 313 total rebounds are the third-most for a
single-season in conference history. Senior Valerie Logan has run
the Pirate offense to perfection all year long, averaging 4.7
assists per game (second in SCAC), which has contributed to
Southwestern leading the SCAC in field goal percentage at 40.4
percent. With the top seed, the Pirates earn a first round bye in
this year's tournament and will take on the winner of Schreiner
University and the University of Dallas in Saturday's first
semifinal contest at 1 p.m.
Texas Lutheran University, the defending SCAC champions, enter the
2015 tournament as the No. 2 seed after finishing the season with
an overall record of 16-8; 11-3 in the SCAC. The Bulldogs earned a
share of the SCAC regular season title along with Southwestern and
Trinity after winning the regular season title outright as well as
the tournament title a season ago. In last year's tournament run,
the Bulldogs swept past Centenary College and Schreiner to set up
what turned into an epic championship game with Trinity. In that
title game, Karisa Cantu hit the game-winning shot in the waning
seconds to propell TLU to its first-ever women's basketball
conference title. Now a senior, Cantu is averaging 12.3 points
(seventh in the SCAC) and 4.3 assists per game (fourth in the
SCAC), and gets plenty of scoring help this season from junior
Taylor Dydalewicz. A three-time SCAC Player-of-the-Week this
season, Dydalewicz is leading the SCAC at 17.9 points per
game and shooting 44.6 percent from the field (seventh in the SCAC)
and 79.9 percent from the line (fourth in the SCAC). Sophomore
Kristen Lye is the top rebounder on the team at 7.4 boards per game
(fourth in the SCAC) while chipping in with 9.7 points per game,
while sophomore Savannah Hight provides 9.5 points per game off the
bench for the Bulldogs. Texas Lutheran leads the SCAC in scoring
offense at 72.7 points per game and holds opponents to just 37.0
percent shooting from the field (second in the SCAC). As the No. 2
seed, the Bulldogs earned a bye and will take on the winner of the
Trinity and Austin College game in Saturday's second semifinal at 3
p.m.
Despite sharing the conference regular season title, Trinity
University (19-5 overall; 11-3 in the SCAC) missed out on one of
the two first-round byes after slipping to the No. 3 seed following
the application of the conference's seeding tiebreakers. In the
2014 tournament, Trinity entered as the No. 2 seed and earned its
way into the title game after victories over Colorado College and
the University of Dallas. The championship game ended in
heartbreaking fashion for the Tigers as Texas Lutheran prevailed
54-52 on a final possesion buzzer-beater. After leading the
conference in scoring a year ago, Trinity is making its mark on the
defensive side of the floor this season, holding opponents to just
51.9 points per game which is tops in the SCAC and 29th among all
Division III teams. Reigning SCAC Player of the Year junior Anecia
Richardson leads the Tigers with 13.7 points (fourth in the SCAC)
and 5.4 rebounds per game while shooting 54.5 percent from the
field (second in the SCAC). Senior Hannah Coley, who missed eight
games due to injury, is back and averages 10.2 points, 3.6 rebounds
and 3.1 assists per game. Senior Lauren Splawn is third on teh team
in scoring at 8.7 points per game and junior Bryony Harris is
second on the team in rebounding at 4.9 boards per game. Trinity
will face sixth-seeded Austin College in tournament's second
quarterfinal (scheduled tip at 3 p.m.) - an opponent the Tigers
swept in their home and home regular season series. Trinity
defeated Austin College 64-48 on Jan. 9 in Sherman and picked up
the 74-68 home victory on Feb. 13. The Trinity/Austin College
winner will face off against defending SCAC champion Texas Lutheran
in Saturday's second semifinal.
Schreiner University enters the 2015 SCAC tournament as the No. 4
seed after posting an overall record of 11-12 overall and 9-5 in
conference action. The Mountaineers were the No. 5 seed at last
year's conference tournament and took down No. 4 Austin College
75-63 in the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion
Texas Lutheran the following day. This year's Schreiner squad has
proven to be stingy on the defensive side of the ball, allowing
just 59.3 points per game (second in the SCAC) while holding
opponents to 37.2 percent shooting from the field (second in the
SCAC). The starting rotation for head coach Temaine Wright has been
ever evolving as thirteen of different players have made at least
one start for the Mountaineers this season. Junior Kelsie Jackson
leads the team with 12.3 points per game (ninth in the SCAC), while
fellow junior Brooke Sanders (9.7 ppg) and sophomore Saby Fennell
(9.5 ppg) are just behind in the scoring column. Jackson is also
the team leader in rebounding (6.4 rpg - 10th in the SCAC) and
steals (1.3 spg). Fennell pulls down 4.6 boards per contest while
Sanders averages 3.8. The Mountaineers will take on fifth-seeded
University of Dallas in Friday's first women's quarterfinal, which
will be the opening contest of the tournament and is scheduled to
tip at 1 p.m. In the previous two meetings between the programs
this season, Schreiner earned the series sweep - defeating Dallas
69-66 in Irving on Jan. 9 and 72-65 on Feb. 13 in Kerrville.
Friday's winner will take on top-seeded Southwestern University in
Saturday's first semifinal game.
The University of Dallas women’s basketball team earned the
fifth seed entering the 2015 SCAC Women’s Basketball
Tournament after posting a record of 14-11 overall and 7-7 in SCAC
play. In last year’s SCAC tournament, the sixth-seeded
Crusaders shocked third-seeded Southwestern, 66-58, and then gave
second-seeded Trinity all it could handle in the semifinals before
falling 60-54. Second in the league in scoring at 72.0 points per
game, the 2014-15 Dallas squad possesses a balanced attack with
senior guard Marleyna Bustamante (12.1 ppg), senior forward Brooke
Hagemann (11.8 ppg) and freshman forward Michelle DeCoud (11.0 ppg)
each averaging over 11 points per game. Additionally, DeCoud leads
the team in rebounding (7.9 boards per contest – third in the
SCAC) and field goal percentage (46.7 percent – fifth in the
SCAC) and Bustamante (2.0 spg – fourth in the SCAC) and
Hagemann (1.9 spg – sixth in the SCAC) are both among the
league leaders in steals. Sophomore guard Sammi Tso leads the
conference in three-point field goal percentage (41.5 percent).
Dallas will face off against fourth-seeded Schreiner University in
Friday’s first quarterfinal matchup. UD lost twice to the
Mountaineers during the regular season, albeit, in two close
contests. The Crusaders dropped a 69-66 decision at home on January
9 and fell 72-65 at Schreiner on February 13. In its two previous
SCAC tournament appearances (2013 and 2014), Dallas is 2-0 in
quarterfinal play, having pulled the “seed” upset in
both contests. The winner of the #4/#5 match-up will move on to
face top-seeded Southwestern University on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Austin College women enter this year’s SCAC Tournament as
the sixth-seed with a conference mark of 5-9 and an overall record
of 10-14. The ‘Roos dropped a quarterfinal match to Schreiner
in last year’s tournament, but did advance to the semifinals
in 2013. Senior guard Christine Kime leads Austin College with 13.0
points per game (fifth in the SCAC) while senior forward Erin Riley
(10.6 ppg) and junior forward Brianna Harvey (10.5 ppg) are both
averaging in double digits. Riley is leading the squad in
rebounding (6.7 rpg – fifth in the SCAC) while Kime tops the
‘Roos in assists (4.4 apg – third in the SCAC). Harvey
leads both team and the league in field goal percentage at 55.7
percent. Austin College leads the conference in free throw
percentage (74.7 percent) with Kime and Harvey currently 1-2 in the
league at 89.2 and 88.2 percent, respectively. Austin College will
face third-seeded Trinity University in Friday’s second
quarterfinal game, a team it lost to twice during the 2014-15
regular season. The ‘Roos dropped a 64-48 decision on January
9 in Sherman and then fell 74-68 to Trinity on February 13. The two
have never faced each other in SCAC tournament play. The winner of
Friday’s #3/#6 matchup will take on second-seeded Texas
Lutheran University in Saturday’s second semifinal at 3
p.m.
Tournament action gets underway on Friday beginning at 1 p.m. CT.
The entire tournament schedule is listed below.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY
27
SCAC Women’s Basketball Tournament -
hosted by the University of Dallas
Game 1 - No. 4 Schreiner University vs. No. 5
University of Dallas - 1 p.m.
Game 2 - No. 3 Trinity University vs. No. 6 Austin
College - 3 p.m.
SATURDAY,
FEBRUARY 28
SCAC Women’s Basketball Tournament -
hosted by the University of Dallas
Game 3 - No. 1 Southwestern University
vs. Game 1 Winner - 1 p.m.
Game 4 - No. 2 Texas Lutheran University vs.
Game 2 Winner - 3 p.m.
SUNDAY, MARCH
1
SCAC Women’s Basketball Tournament -
hosted by the University of Dallas
Game 5 - Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner
– Noon
PAST SCAC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
CHAMPIONS
2014 - Texas Lutheran University (MVP - Karisa Cantu,
Texas Lutheran)
2013 - Trinity University (MVP - Libby Kruse, Trinity)
2012 - Centre College (MVP - Maggie Prewitt, Centre)
2011 - DePauw University (MVP - Katie Mathews, DePauw)
2010 - DePauw University (MVP - Jenna Fernandez, DePauw)
2009 - Oglethorpe University (MVP - Tina Grace, Oglethorpe)
2008 - DePauw University (MVP - Gretchen Haehl, DePauw)
2007 - DePauw University (MVP - Liz Bondi, DePauw)
2006 - DePauw University (MVP - Liz Bondi, DePauw)
2005 - Trinity University (MVP - Tara Rohde, Trinity)
2004 - DePauw University (MVP - Sarah Zondor, DePauw)
2003 - Trinity University (MVP - Melissa Carl, Trinity)
*The SCAC did not conduct a postseason basketball tournament prior to the 2002-2003 season; the league champion was determined by regular season finish.
