Howard Payne won the American Southwest Conference West Division title with a 16-3 league record and earned the right to host the 2013 ASC Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament, to be held Feb. 22-24 at Brownwood Coliseum in Brownwood, Texas.
The entire eight-team, single elimination event – being played for a 15th-straight year – will be available for fans to watch online for free. All links – including those to live stats, radio broadcasts, box scores, game recaps, bracket, photos and post-game interviews – can be found on the conference’s Tournament Central page (www.ASCsports.org) and Howard Payne’s athletic website (www.hpusports.com).
Howard Payne (21-4) and head coach Josh Prock, who won the West Division title for the fourth time in seven years, will begin play at 7:30 p.m. Friday against East Division No. 4 seed East Texas Baptist (16-9). HPU, winners of 15 of its last 17 games, has hoisted five league trophies – including every time it has hosted the conference event (2007, 2009 and 2011). ETBU returns to the ASC tournament after a two-year absence.Louisiana College (22-3) and head coach Jason Tinsley enter as victors of the East Division for the fourth straight season. The Lady Wildcats went 17-2 in league play with both of their losses coming in overtime. LC, which leads the nation in scoring at 87.6 points per game, begins its quest for a second conference title Friday when it tips off in the first quarterfinal at noon against the West Division’s No. 4 seed, Mary Hardin-Baylor (8-16). UMHB is back in the event after missing last year.
Defending conference champion Concordia Texas (17-8) enters as the West No. 2 seed and will open play at 2:30 p.m. Friday against the East’s No. 3 seed, Texas-Tyler (17-8). CTX, which had not won an ASC tournament game before last year, is making back-to-back appearances in the event for the first time in program history. UT Tyler is in the event for the first time since 2009.
Texas-Dallas (17-8) is the East’s No. 2 seed and at 5 p.m. Friday will take on West No. 3 seed Hardin-Simmons (13-12). UTD has put together seven straight appearances in the ASC tournament after never having qualified before that. HSU has won a record six conference titles (1999-2004) and is the only team to have qualified every year.
The semifinals are scheduled to tip off Saturday at 2 p.m. (LC-UMHB winner vs. CTX-UT TYLER winner) and 4:30 p.m. (UTD-HSU winner vs. HPU-ETBU winner), with the championship game coming Sunday at 2 p.m.
The ASC tournament winner earns an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship.
Admission prices each day will be $6 for adults and $3 for students/seniors. No complimentary pass lists will be accepted. Souvenir tournament T-shirts (short sleeved) will be available for $15, while official game programs will be $3. Only cash and checks will be accepted.
Teams from the West Division hold a 13-1 advantage in ASC titles won. The hosting rights of the tournament rotate from West to East each year. The host team has won six times. Louisiana College has reached the title game three straight years, finishing as runner-up in the last two. No all-tournament team selections return from last year. Louisiana College is ranked No. 18 in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll, while Howard Payne is receiving votes.
2013 ASC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
-Hosted by Howard Payne University / Brownwood, Texas / Brownwood Coliseum-
Friday, February 22
Quarterfinals
Game 1: [E1] Louisiana College (22-3) vs. [W4] Mary Hardin-Baylor (8-16), Noon
Game 2: [W2] Concordia Texas (17-8) vs. [E3] Texas-Tyler (17-8), 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: [E2] Texas-Dallas (17-8) vs. [W3] Hardin-Simmons (13-12), 5 p.m.
Game 4: [W1] Howard Payne (21-4) vs. [E4] East Texas Baptist (16-9), 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, February 23
Semifinals
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 2 p.m.
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, February 24
Championship
Game 7: Semifinal winners, 2 p.m.
