Peach Belt Releases Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket

After a dramatic final day to the regular season, the Peach Belt Conference has released the bracket for the 2009 basketball tournament which begins on March 4 in Aiken, S.C. Heading into the final day there were still many seeds left up for grabs and a handful of key games on the schedule that determined the final seedings.

One thing that was not in doubt was that Francis Marion would be #1. The Patriots locked up the top seed last week and promptly lost their next two games, including an 86-80 overtime decision at Clayton State on Saturday. Clayton State’s Marie St. Fort scored 10 of her 16 points in overtime to lead the Lakers to the win. Clayton State will be the #2 seed for the PBC Tournament.

USC Aiken captured the #3 seed after defeating GCSU 67-58 in Aiken on Saturday. Morgan Johnson scored 11 points with 15 rebounds while Meredith Legg added 16 points and Kendra Chandler 15 points and eight rebounds. The win put USCA into a three-way tie at 12-8 with both Armstrong Atlantic State and Lander. USCA wins the tiebreak thanks to their 3-1 cumulative record against the other two teams. USCA will face, ironically enough, GCSU in their first game on Thursday night. GCSU fell to the #6 seed following their loss in Aiken.

Armstrong Atlantic State will be the #4 seed after their 71-64 win over Lander. Both AASU and Lander finished with a 12-8 PBC record, but AASU takes the higher seed thanks to their overtime win against Francis Marion last Wednesday. Lacey Willis scored 22 points with 11 rebounds and six assists. Armstrong Atlantic State shot 56% from the field as a team. Once again, irony rears its head as AASU will face #5-seed Lander in the first round on Thursday at 3:00.

Columbus State is the seventh seed following their 70-63 win over UNC Pembroke. The Cougars got 22 points and 10 rebounds from Phebe Smith, who set the CSU single-season scoring record with 563 points this year, eclipsing the old record of 552. CSU will face 10th-seeded Augusta State in the first round on Wednesday at 3:00. With the loss, UNC Pembroke falls to the #8 seed and will face #9 North Georgia in the first game of the tournament on Wednesday at 1:00.

View Bracket (PDF)

2009 PBC Women’s Basketball Tournament
USCA Convocation Center, Aiken, S.C.

Wednseday, March 4 – First Round
#8 UNC Pembroke vs. #9 North Georgia, 1:00
#7 Columbus State vs. #10 Augusta State, 3:00

Thursday, March 5 – Quarterfinals
8-9 Winner vs. #1 Francis Marion, 1:00
#4 Armstrong Atlantic State vs. #5 Lander, 3:00
7-10 Winner vs. #2 Clayton State, 5:00
#6 GCSU at #3 USC Aiken, 7:00

Saturday, March 7 – Semifinals
First Semifinal, 2:00
Second Semifinal, 4:00

Sunday, March 8 – Championship
Championship Game, 2:00