FMU women makes tourney, will face Newberry

By: From local reports | SCNOW
Published: March 08, 2010

FLORENCE — For the third straight year, the Francis Marion women will be going to the Division II tournament.

The Patriots will face Newberry on Friday in Southeast Regional held at Lander University in Greenwood. The time of the game has yet to be determined.
The 64-team field announced on Sunday night included 22 automatic qualifiers and 42 at-large selections. Winners of each of the eight regionals will advance to St. Joseph, Mo., for the Elite Eight on March 23, 24 and 26.

Francis Marion finished with a 26-4 record and lost in Sunday’s Peach Belt conference tournament championship game against Clayton State.

FMU is making its eighth appearance overall since moving to NCAA affiliation in 1992. The Patriots earned invitations for five consecutive years between 1997 and 2001, reaching the round of Sweet Sixteen in four straight years (1998-2001) and making the 1998 Final Four. In 2008, FMU hosted the regional as the sixth seed, and last year the Patriots again reached the Sweet Sixteen as the fourth seed in the Southeast.

In addition to FMU and Newberry, the other teams in the Southeast Regional are No. 1 seed Lander (25-3), No. 2 seed Clayton State University (24-6), No. 4 seed Lenoir-Rhyne College (21-7), No. 5 seed Carson-Newman College (23-6), No. 7 seed Tusculum College (19-9), and No.8 seed Anderson University (20-10).

Four first-round games will be played Friday. The semifinals will be played Saturday with the championship game set for Monday.

If Francis Marion wins its first game, the Patriots would face the Clayton State/Tusculum winner in the semifinals.

FMU owns a 2-3 record against the other teams in the regional. The Patriots lead the all-time series with Newberry 21-3, but the two teams have not met since Dec. 16, 2006, when Newberry claimed a 63-42 home win.

NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Tournament Southeast Regional
Lander University in Greenwood, S.C. (2,500-seat Finis Horne Arena)
FRIDAY
Clayton State University (24-6) v. Tusculum College (19-9)
Francis Marion University (26-4) v. Newberry College (21-7)
Lander University (25-3) v. Anderson University (20-10)
Lenoir-Rhyne College (21-7) v. Carson-Newman College (23-6)