2014 Big West Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket
The seeds are set and the matchups are finalized as the 2014 Big West Women's Basketball Tournament is set to begin Tuesday night at the Pyramid on the campus of Long Beach State.
The first game of the day will be a 6:00 pm matchup between No. 5 UC Davis and No. 8 UC Santa Barbara. Following that game will be No. 6 Long Beach State and No. 7 Cal State Fullerton.
The highest remaining seed of the first day of play will take on No. 3 Hawai'i in a 6:00 pm showdown at the Pyramid. The other first round winner takes on No. 4 UC Irvine following the first game.
The two advancing clubs will then head to Honda Center for the semifinals on Friday, March 14. The lowest remaining seed takes on No. 1 Cal State Northridge at 12:00 pm, with the highest remaining seed set to take on No. 2 Cal Poly after that matchup.
The two semifinal winners will then play in the championship game at 1pm on Saturday, March 15.
The 2014 Big West Women's Tournament will also be broadcast coast to coast as the first round, quarterfinals and semifinals will be shown live on ESPN3. The championship game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Prime Ticket.
More information, including game recaps, schedules and ticket prices can be found at the above link.
BIG WEST AT A GLANCE
CAL POLY
For Openers: Cal Poly wrapped up the regular season with a 79-68 road win over rival UC Santa Barbara. The Mustangs wrapped up league play at 11-5, giving them the No. 2 seed at the Big West Tournament.
Schlemer Goes For Two: Senior Molly Schlemer earned first team All-Big West honors for the second year in a row, one of two players in the league to do so. Schlemer averaged career highs in points (17.2) and rebounds (10.4) to claim the honor.
High Octane: Cal Poly is the league’s highest scoring team at 77.1 points per game. The Mustangs added a little extra during conference play, scoring at a 78.9 per game clip.
The Numbers Game...6: The Mustangs have won double digit conference games in six consecutive seasons, their best run as a member of the Big West.
CAL STATE FULLERTON
For Openers: Cal State Fullerton finished 8-8 in Big West play after picking up a split in last week’s action. The Titans lost on the road to UC Irvine, 78-72, before defeating Hawai’i at home by a 61-42 margin. The Titans will be the No. 7 seed in the upcoming Big West Tournament.
Now THAT Is Defense: CSF allowed a season-low 42 points in the win over UH, holding the Rainbow Wahine to just 29.1% (16-55) from the field and just 11.1% (1-9) from the three-point line.
The Chante Thomas Show: Senior Alex Thomas and junior Chante Miles stole the show against Hawai’i, with Thomas scoring 20 and Miles putting in a game-high 24. The duo combined to score more points than the entire UH team.
The Numbers Game...4: Cal State Fullerton has won its most games (12) and had its most conference wins (8) since the 2009-10 season.
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE
For Openers: Cal State Northridge won its only game last week, a 52-49 road victory over Long Beach State. The win gave CSUN the first outright Big West title in program history.
Topping The Field: The Matadors have claimed the top seed in the Big West Tournament, earning a bye to the semifinals on Friday, March 14. It’s the first #1 seed for the program in its Big West tenure, topping the #2 seed the program picked up in 2012.
Inching Closer to 100: Junior Camille Mahlknecht swatted away three shots against the 49ers to give her 93 on the season, tying the single season school record.
The Numbers Game...12: Cal State Northridge recorded the most conference wins of its Big West tenure this season with 12.
LONG BEACH STATE
For Openers: Long Beach State finished up its regular season with an 8-8 conference record after splitting a pair of games last week. The 49ers lost at home to regular season champion Cal State Northridge, 52-49, then won a wild game on the road against UC Riverside, 89-81. LBSU will enter the Big West Tournament as a No. 6 seed.
All Around Alex: Junior Alex Sanchez is rounding into form as the postseason approaches. She had nine points, four assists and four rebounds against CSUN, then backed that up with 15 points, including an 11-for-11 showing from the foul line, seven rebounds and five assists against the Highlanders.
The Beach Plays D: Long Beach State ranks first in the Big West in turnovers forced per game (19.4) and steals per game (8.9), while tying for third in blocks (3.1).
The Numbers Game...24: Last year at the Big West Tournament, then-sophomore Devin Hudson set a tourney record with 24 rebounds against Cal State Fullerton.
UC DAVIS
For Openers: UC Davis split a pair of Big West home games a week ago to finish 9-7 in conference play. The Aggies defeated UC Riverside by a 78-52 margin before falling to UC Irvine, 68-55. UCD will be the No. 5 seed at the Big West Tournament
Sydnee Does It Again: Junior Sydnee Fipps was named to the All-Big West first team for the second year in a row. She joins former Aggie Paige Minun (three years in a row) as the only players in program history to win multiple first team All-Big West accolades.
No Time For Twos: Junior Kelsey Harris is not afraid to let it fly from three-point land. Of Harris’ 102 made field goals, 79 of them are three-point baskets. She’s only two back of the UCD single season record.
The Numbers Game...100: Head coach Jennifer Gross was credited with 100 more points from her playing days as an Aggie, giving her 1,243. The new scoring total actually puts her 60 points ahead of Fipps, her current player.
UC IRVINE
For Openers: UC Irvine finished the regular season strong with a 78-72 home win over Cal State Fullerton and a 68-55 win on the road against UC Davis. The two wins gave the Anteaters a 9-7 Big West record and the No. 4 seed in the conference tourney.
Kick It Up A Notch: A year after earning second team All-Big West accolades, senior Camille Buckley earned first team distinction this season. She averages 18.0 points and 11.8 rebounds and has picked up 17 double doubles.
That’s The Three: The Anteaters are averaing 9.3 made threes per game over their last four contests. UCI is certainly not shy about putting them up, averaging 19.2 a game.
The Numbers Game...7: UC Irvine has lost its last seven opening games at the Big West Tournament. The last time the Anteaters won a game at the tourney was 2005 when current assistants Lauren Yadon and Annie Mae along with Director of Operations Miranda Forry were on the club.
UC RIVERSIDE
For Openers: UC Riverside wrapped up its 2013-14 campaign with a pair of losses as it fell to UC Davis on the road, 78-52, then to Long Beach State at home, 89-81.
Smashed That Theory: Sophomore Brittany Crain proved a second-year slump was bogus as she earned first team All-Big West honors. Crain leads the league in scoring at 19.2 a contest and also picked up 5.9 rebounds a game. She also ranked third in three-point percentage (40.4), picked up 15 20+ point games and averaged 36.4 minutes a night to lead the league.
Simone Recognized: Freshman Simone DeCoud also received acclaim as she was named the Big West Freshman of the Year. DeCoud averaged 11.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game in 31.1 minutes in her rookie season.
The Numbers Game...5: The 81 points the Highlanders scored was the fifth time this season the club surpassed the 80-point barrier.
UC SANTA BARBARA
For Openers: UC Santa Barbara lost its last two regular season games to finish the conference season 3-13. UCSB lost at Hawai’i, 73-60, and lost at home to Cal Poly, 79-68. The Gauchos will enter the Big West Tournament as the No. 8 seed.
Two Earn All-Conference Awards: Seniors Nicole Nesbit and Melissa Zornig earned honorable Mention All-Big West honors after strong seasons. Nesbit averages 15.4 points and 3.6 assists a game, while Zornig puts up 14.3 points an outing and has hit 49 threes.
Haven’t Seen This Kind Of 8: The Gauchos finished in eighth place this year, the first time the Gauchos have finished in eighth since the 1985-86 campaign..
The Numbers Game...14: UC Santa Barbara has the most Big West titles in Tournament history with 14. Their most recent crown came as a No. 6 seed in 2012.
HAWAI'I
For Openers: Hawai’i played finished its second season back in the Big West as they finished their first, in third place. UH finished up 10-6 in league play after beating UC Santa Barbara at home, 73-60, and losing at Cal State Fullerton, 61-42. The Rainbow Wahine will be the No. 3 seed in the Big West Tournament.
Big West Honors: Seniors Kamilah Martin and Shawna-Lei Kuehu earned second team All-Big West accolades. Jackson averages 15.5 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, while Kuehu was a jack of all trades averaging 10.6 points, 4.1 rebounds 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals per game.
The Ups and Downs Of Offense: The Rainbow Wahine scored 73 points on 45.5% shooting in the win over the Gauchos, then scored a season-low 42 points and shot only 29.1% in the loss to the Titans.
The Numbers Game...10.4: Hawai’i leads the Big West during conference play with a +10.4 margin in the rebound department.