March 11, 2012

CIS W-Basketball: Ottawa earns No. 3 seed, Windsor No. 4 heading into national championship

CALGARY (CIS) – The Regina Cougars are the tournament favourites, while their provincial counterparts the Saskatchewan Huskies earned the wild card for next weekend’s CIS women’s basketball Final 8 at the University of Calgary.

Championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wbkb/index

The seeding was announced Sunday for the 2012 CIS tourney set to kick off Saturday at the Jack Simpson Gym in Calgary. The eight-team competition concludes next Monday, March 19 with the gold medal final at 7 p.m. local (9 p.m. ET).

Shaw TV and NBA TV Canada will carry the two Sunday semi-final games live. Shaw TV will also carry the final live, while NBA TV Canada will broadcast the final on a two-hour tape delay (9 p.m. local / 11 p.m. ET). SSN Canada will have live webcasts of all 11 contests, including the main and consolation brackets.

Rounding out the seeding behind Cougars are the No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds (Canada West champions), No. 3 Ottawa Gee-Gees (OUA champions), No. 4 and defending champion Windsor Lancers (East Regional champions), No. 5 Acadia Axewomen (AUS champions), No. 6 Saskatchewan Huskies (wild card), No. 7 McGill Martlets (RSEQ champions) and No. 8 Calgary Dinos (host).

The Cougars, who had their undefeated streak snapped at 23 games in the Canada West final against UBC, were awarded the No. 1 seed after holding that ranking all season in the CIS Top 10. They earned their ticket to the Final 8 after winning the West Regional Saturday night with an 85-62 win over Brock. They will face the host Dinos in the final quarterfinal on Saturday, March 17 at 7 p.m. MT.

The Huskies, who lost the West Regional semi-final to Brock Friday night, were selected as the wild card entry by the committee and enter as the No. 6 seed.

The No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds will open the tournament against the Quebec champion McGill Martlets at 12 p.m. Saturday. Other first-round contests will see Ottawa battle Saskatchewan at 2 p.m. and defending champion Windsor taking on Acadia at 5 p.m.

With their 2011 championship on their home floor, the Lancers snapped Canada West’s vice-like grip on the Bronze Baby after teams from the West (including the now defunct Great Plains conference) had won 19 consecutive banners, dating back to 1991.

Note: A complete championship preview will follow on Tuesday.

SEEDING

1. Regina Cougars (West Regional champions: 20-0 regular season / 5-1 playoffs)

2. UBC Thunderbirds (Canada West champions: 15-3 regular season / 4-0 playoffs)

3. Ottawa Gee-Gees (OUA champions: 19-3 regular season / 4-1 playoffs)

4. Windsor Lancers (East Regional champions: 20-2 regular season / 4-1 playoffs)

5. Acadia Axewomen (AUS champions: 17-3 regular season / 2-0 playoffs)

6. Saskatchewan Huskies (Wild card: 15-5 regular season / 3-2 playoffs)

7. McGill Martlets (RSEQ champions: 11-5 regular season / 2-0 playoffs)

8. Calgary Dinos (Host: 14-6 regular season / 0-2 playoffs)

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (all times MOUNTAIN TIME)

NOTE: Live webcast of all games on SSN Canada. Semi-finals will be broadcast live on Shaw TV and NBA TV Canada, and the final will be broadcast live on Shaw TV and on a two-hour tape delay on NBA TV Canada.

Friday, March 16

8:00 to 16:00 Team Practices

18:00 All Canadian Gala (Sheraton Suites Eau Claire)

Saturday, March 17

12:00 Quarter-final #1: No. 2 UBC vs. No. 7 McGill

14:00 Quarter-final #2: No. 3 Ottawa vs. No. 6 Saskatchewan

17:00 Quarter-final #3: No. 4 Windsor vs. No. 5 Acadia

19:00 Quarter-final #4: No. 1 Regina vs. No. 8 Calgary

Sunday, March 18

12:00 Consolation #1: Loser QF #1 vs. Loser QF #2

14:00 Consolation #2: Loser QF #3 vs. Loser QF #4

17:00 Semifinal #1: Winner QF #1 vs. Winner QF #2 (LIVE on Shaw TV and NBA TV Canada)