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Edinboro will play host to the semifinals and championship game of the 2012 PSAC Women's Basketball Tournament this Friday and Saturday at McComb Fieldhouse. The Fighting Scots are the defending tournament champions and will be aiming for their second straight and third overall PSAC title. IUP will be shooting for its fifth overall PSAC title and its fourth in the last six seasons, Bloomsburg is looking for its second PSAC championship and first since 1992, while West Chester is seeking its first ever PSAC title.
The NCAA tournament selections will be announced on Sunday night, March 4 at 10:00 p.m. live on NCAA.com. The PSAC champion will receive an automatic bid to the tournament.
PSAC Women's Basketball Tournament
Semifinals - Friday, March 2 (at Edinboro)
Bloomsburg vs. IUP, 5:30 p.m.
West Chester vs. Edinboro, 7:30 p.m.
Championship - Saturday, March 3 (at Edinboro)
Bloomsburg/IUP vs. West Chester/Edinboro, 7:00 p.m.
PSAC Tournament Quick Hits
- Edinboro is back in the semifinals for the second straight season and is seeking its third league championship, with the others coming last year and in 1990.
- West Chester is back in the semifinals for the fourth time in the last five seasons and for the ninth time in the last 12. The Golden Rams are also participating in the PSAC Tournament for the 16th time in the last 17 years but has never won the league tournament.
- After not making the semifinals since 2001 up until last year, Bloomsburg has now advanced to the semifinals for the second straight season. The Huskies will be looking to advance to the championship game for the first time since 1992, when they won the only title in program history.
- IUP is back in the semifinals for the first time since it won the last of its three straight championships from 2007-09. This is IUP's seventh straight appearance in the PSAC Tournament, and each time the Crimson Hawks advanced out of the quarterfinal round in the last five years, they won the tournament.
- This year will mark the first time since 2006 that IUP and California will not play in the PSAC Tournament.
- California's run of 11 straight appearances in the PSAC championship game will come to an end this season after the Vulcans were knocked off by Edinboro in the quarterfinals.
- Although absent from the semifinals this year for the first time since 2000, California still owns the second-longest current streak of PSAC Tournament appearances, having appeared in 12 straight.
- Millersville owns the most consecutive playoff appearances with 16 straight. After Cal, IUP is next with seven straight and West Chester follows that with six.
- The Western Division has won the last five, 14 of the last 15, and 16 of the last 18 tournament titles (Shippensburg played in the Western Division up until 2009).
Game Previews
Bloomsburg vs. IUP
The Crimson Hawks were responsible for one of Bloomsburg's four losses this year back on December 3 at IUP. In the game, just a five-point win for IUP, 84-79, the biggest difference was on the glass as the Crimson Hawks outrebounded the Huskies 48-26, including a 20-4 advantage on the offensive boards. That advantage helped IUP overcome 21 turnovers (two more than Bloomsburg) and a dismal performance at the free throw line (17-for-30, 56.7 percent) in a game that was otherwise fairly even, as both teams shot nearly the same from both the field and three-point range. Bloomsburg made 24-of-29 free throws in that game so in order for the Huskies to come out on top, they will likely need to shoot that well once again from the charity stripe and cut down on that rebounding difference. For the season, IUP had the top rebounding margin in the PSAC, outrebounding opponents by 6.0 rebounds per game, while Bloomsburg's is the second-worst, as it is being outrebouded by 4.8 rebounds per contest. How well it shoots from the floor will also likely be a key for the Huskies, as they will be going up against the league's best field goal percentage defense in IUP, which is limiting opponents to just 35.4 percent from the field. Bloomsburg shoots 3.0 percentage points better than IUP from the field and has the league's best three-point shooting, converting on 38.1 from beyond the arc.
West Chester vs. Edinboro
Edinboro held on for a four-point, 80-76 win over West Chester in the teams' first meeting of the season back on December 9. The Golden Rams outshot the Fighting Scots by over 10 percent from the floor in that meeting. However, the difference in a close game was likely turnovers, as the Rams committed 25 giveaways compared to 19 for Edinboro. Those two categories could also be the difference in this contest as these are the top two scoring teams in the PSAC, both averaging just over 75 ppg. Both teams are also strong defensively, with Edinboro holding teams to 36.7 percent shooting from the field and West Chester just behind the Scots at 37.7 percent, however Edinboro is holding its opponents to just 54 points per game, which is tops in the PSAC, while West Chester allows over 10 more ppg. These two teams also generate the most steals in the PSAC, with Edinboro first at 17.2 and West Chester second at 13.9 and are the two best offensive rebounding teams in the PSAC. With both teams so close statistically, any little break could make the difference in what should be another good game.