Monday, March 15, 2010

MACON, Ga. - On Monday, ETSU, the Atlantic Sun's automatic qualifier, learned it will head to Cincinnati to take on Xavier, out of the Atlantic 10 in the first round of the Women's NCAA Tournament .

The Lady Buccaneers locked into the 14th seed in the Sacramento Region after winning their third straight General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Champ. They enter riding a school-record 10-game win streak and as winners of 19 of their last 20 games. Their lone loss in the span came to the A-Sun's fellow postseason qualifier, FGCU, in Fort Myers, Fla. last month.

The Musketeers, currently ranked No. 5 nationally, matched the Lady Bucs by claiming both the regular-season and conference tournament titles. Xavier posted a 13-2 record this season at the Cintas Center and since the building opened in 2000, the Musketeers own a 130-30 mark.

Both programs feature its respective conference Player of the Year in Siarre Evans for ETSU and Amber Harris for Xavier. Harris ranks third in the conference in scoring, 15.4 points per game and fourth in rebounding at an even 9.0 per game. Evans won her second straight Player of the Year award and added a second straight Tournament MVP award two weeks ago.

Like Harris, Evans places third in her league in scoring, but leads in rebounds at 11.0 per game. Evans enters the NCAA Tournament tied for the lead in Division I in double doubles with 21.

Vanderbilt, the sixth seed, faces DePaul, the No. 11 seed, earlier on Sunday from the Cintas Center. The Commodores and Lady Bucs met in December with Vanderbilt claiming a 96-83 win on its home floor.