KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Heart of America Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament bracket has been released with the three rounds of games set for March 1st, 3rd and 6th. All tournament games are scheduled to start at 7:00 pm.
Regular season champion MidAmerica Nazarene (22-8) claimed the #1 seed after posting a 15-3 mark to win its first championship since 2007 and second in program history. The Pioneers will take on 8th-seeded Missouri Valley (10-18) in quarterfinal round action on Thursday at Bell Family Arena. MNU swept both meetings between the two teams, including a 67-61 verdict in Marshall on Saturday, February 18.
Conference runner-up Avila (20-9) will be the #2 seed after finishing just one game behind MNU in the final standings. The Eagles, who won the 2011 HAAC Tournament, will play host to 7th-seeded Culver-Stockton (14-16) in Mabee Fieldhouse in opening round play. Avila won both contests against the Wildcats including a 72-63 decision in Kansas City back in early December.
First-year head coach James Arnold will lead #3-seeded Central Methodist (17-12) into the first round with a home contest in Puckett Field House against 6th-seeded Graceland (12-12). The Eagles won a pair of close battles against the Yellowjackets this season with the team's last squaring off on February 9 in a 56-52 finish.
The final opening round matchup will line up #4-seeded Benedictine (17-12) hosting 5th-seeded Evangel (10-17) at Ralph Nolan Gymnasium. The Ravens enter the postseason on a four-game winning streak that includes a 66-57 win over Avila in the regular season finale while the Crusaders wrapped up the campaign with a 75-59 triumph over Peru State.
The winner of the MNU-Missouri Valley game will match up against the Benedictine-Evangel winner in semifinal round play on Saturday evening while the Central Methodist-Graceland victor will square off against either Benedictine or Evangel. The highest seeded winning team will host the semifinal round games while the highest remaining seed of the two final round teams will also host the finale on Tuesday, March 6.
The HAAC Tournament champion will receive an automatic berth to the 32nd Annual NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Championship, which will take place March 14-20 at the Frankfort Convention Center in Frankfort, Ky. The championship game will be broacast live on CBS Sports Television with tip-off set for 6:00pm (ET).
