March 1, 2009

2009 Conference USA Tournament Bracket in PDF Format

IRVING, Texas - The East Carolina women's basketball team, by virtue of a 17-12 overall record and 8-8 Conference USA ledger, earned the eighth seed for the 2009 C-USA Women's Basketball Championship, as the bracket was announced by league officials Sunday evening.

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 campus of Tulane.

The Lady Pirates will battle No. 9 seed UAB in the tournament's first contest on Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. ECU and the Blazers have played twice already this season, as the Lady Pirates won both tilts with a 70-64 victory in Greenville and a 70-60 triumph in Birmingham. The winner moves on to face No. 1 seed and league champion SMU.

"It seems like UAB and ECU play each other three times a year, every year," head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener said. "UAB has a very good team and a great player in Britney Jones who is a great leader for them. Both teams are very familiar with each other after playing two times during the season and it will be a tough one."

East Carolina and UAB have played twice in the history of the C-USA Tournament, with the Lady Pirates taking both meetings. ECU edged the Blazers 47-46 in the first round of the 2006 event before knocking them off, 85-81, in the semifinals of the 2007 tourney on its way to its first-ever tournament title.

The winner of this year's event will automatically qualify for the 2009 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship, which begins in mid-March.

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 the East Carolina Ticket Office (252-328-4500 or 1-800-DIAL-ECU) or ecupirates.com. For additional women's basketball championship information, visit www.conferenceusa.com.

2009 C-USA CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
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.

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