TOURNAMENT PAGE

GREENWOOD, IN – The HCAC women's basketball tournament will get underway Tuesday night with opening round action from Franklin and Transylvania.  The six-team tournament will decide who receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.  The event will conclude with the semifinals and championship contests at Bluffton University, Saturday and Sunday.

Bluffton (23-2, 16-2 HCAC) heads into the tournament ranked No. 21 in the USA Today Coaches Top 25 poll, winning the conference title for the first time in school history. 

The Beavers posted an 8-2 record against the five other schools involved in the conference tournament.  Rose-Hulman (22-3, 16-2 HCAC) also went 8-2 against the field, while Franklin (18-7, 14-4 HCAC) and Transylvania (18-7, 14-4 HCAC) earned a 6-4 mark against the field.  Mount St. Joseph (9-16, 8-10 HCAC) finished 2-8 and Defiance (7-18, 6-12 HCAC) stood 0-10 against the tourney teams.

Top seed Bluffton will take on the winner of Mount St. Joseph and Transylvania Friday evening in the HCAC semifinals.  Bluffton posted a sweep of the Lions and earned a split with the Pioneers this season.

Transylvania claimed an 8-2 record down the stretch, while Mount St. Joseph went 5-5 heading into the postseason tournament.  The No. 4 seed Pioneers will look to move into the semifinals with a win over No. 5 Mount St. Joseph Tuesday night in Lexington.  Transy earned a season sweep of the Mount during the regular season.  Transylvania and MSJ will tip at 7:30 PM Tuesday night at Transylvania University's Beck Center.

The Rose-Hulman women will be searching for their first tournament championship this weekend.  The Engineers earned the No. 2 seed after sharing the conference championship with Bluffton and will tangle with the winner of Franklin and Defiance in the second semifinal at Bluffton Friday.  The Engineers have won 17-straight games heading into the postseason and earned a split with Franklin and swept Defiance during their meetings this season. 

Franklin claimed the No. 3 seed and will play No. 6 Defiance at 7:30 PM Tuesday night at Franklin College.  The Grizzlies swept the Yellow Jackets during their regular season meetings.  Franklin has gone 8-2 down the stretch, while Defiance has earned a 4-6 mark during that span.  The winner of Tuesday night's game will advance to the semifinals to face Rose-Hulman at Bluffton University Friday evening.

The HCAC tournament championship game will take place at 5:00 PM Saturday at Bluffton's Sommer Center.

Tickets will be $8.00 per session ($5.00 for students and senior citizens).  Children under the age of 11 are free.

Opening Round- Tuesday, Feb. 23 (at high seed)
No. 6 Defiance at No. 3 Franklin, 7:30 PM
No. 5 Mount St. Joseph at No. 4 Transylvania, 7:30 PM

Semifinals - Friday, Feb. 26 (at Bluffton)
No. 1 Bluffton vs. No. 4/5 winner, 6:00 PM
No. 2 Rose-Hulman vs. No. 3/6 winner, 8:00 PM

Championship- Saturday, Feb. 27 (at Bluffton)
5:00 PM

#1 Bluffton University Head Coach: Chad Shutler			#2 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Head Coach: Jon Prevo Player: Cassidy Cain
#3 Franklin College Head Coach: Dana Haggenjos Player: Katie Brewer			#4 Transylvania University Head Coach: Juli Fulks Player: Shawn Kolani