Cambridge, Mass.-- Six seeds were still undetermined going into the final day of the regular season on Saturday, but the women's basketball seeds and bracket are now set for the 2011 America East Basketball Championship presented by Newman's Own. The nine-team tournament begins Thursday, March 3 and concludes with the title game on Saturday, March 12.
University of Hartford's Chase Family Arena in West Hartford, Connecticut will serve as host of the first, quarterfinal and semifinal rounds for the fourth straight year on March 3-6. The title game will be at the court of the highest seed remaining on Saturday, March 12.
UMBC had a bye on the final day of the regular season, but had already locked up the top seed for the first time in program history with a win over Albany last Wednesday night. The Retrievers will face either Maine or Stony Brook Friday evening at 6:05 p.m. The ninth-seeded Black Bears and eighth-seeded Seawolves will square-off in the first round game Thursday night at 6:05 p.m.
Boston U. earned the tournament's second seed on Saturday by virtue of its 75-52 win over Vermont and Binghamton's loss to Stony Brook, 54-37. The Catamounts, the defending America East Women's Basketball Champions, will be the seventh seed and will be matched up with the Terriers for the second time in six days in the quarterfinals on Friday at 12:05 p.m. The Bearcats, who clinched the third seed, will play sixth-seeded New Hampshire in the quarterfinal game following the Boston U.-Vermont contest.
Hartford, the fourth seed, will enter the tournament not as one of the top three seeds for the first time since 2004, but does have home-court advantage on its side. The Hawks are matched up with Albany, the five seed. The Great Danes won the earlier season meeting in Chase Arena this year, 46-43.
The four teams still alive after Friday's quarterfinals will play in the semifinal round on Sunday, March 6 at 11:04 a.m. and 1:34 p.m. America East Television will produce both of Sunday's semifinals and will be available on ESPN3, as part of the ESPN Full Court package and for free on AmericaEast.com.
All-session ticket packages for the 2011 America East Men's and Women's Basketball Championships Presented by Newman's Own are already on sale. Single-session tickets will go on sale Monday morning. Both are available through the University of Hartford Athletics Ticket Office.