CALGARY (CIS) – The UBC Thunderbirds are the No. 2 seeds for next weekend's CIS women's basketball Final 8 at the University of Calgary.
The Regina Cougars are top seeds, despite losing at home to UBC in the Canada West championship game, while their provincial counterparts the Saskatchewan Huskies earned the wild card
CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE
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 6 p.m.
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.
SSN Canada will have live webcasts of all 11 contests, including the main and consolation brackets.
Rounding out the seeding behind UBC and Regina are 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 No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds will open the tournament against the Quebec champion McGill Martlets at 11 a.m. Saturday. Other first-round contests will see Ottawa battle Saskatchewan at 2 p.m. and defending champion Windsor taking on Acadia at 4 p.m.
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 6 p.m.
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.
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.
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 PACIFIC 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.
Saturday, March 17
11:00 Quarter-final #1: No. 2 UBC vs. No. 7 McGill (also live CiTR 101.9 FM)
13:00 Quarter-final #2: No. 3 Ottawa vs. No. 6 Saskatchewan
15:00 Quarter-final #3: No. 4 Windsor vs. No. 5 Acadia
17:00 Quarter-final #4: No. 1 Regina vs. No. 8 Calgary
Sunday, March 18
11:00 Consolation #1: Loser QF #1 vs. Loser QF #2
13:00 Consolation #2: Loser QF #3 vs. Loser QF #4
16:00 Semifinal #1: Winner QF #1 vs. Winner QF #2 (LIVE on Shaw TV and NBA TV Canada)
18:00 Semifinal #2: Winner QF #3 vs. Winner QF #4 (LIVE on Shaw TV and NBA TV Canada)
Monday, March 19
12:00 5th place
14:00 Bronze medal
18:00 Championship final (LIVE on Shaw TV / tape delay 8 p.m. PT on NBA TV Canada)
