March 5, 2007

Complete Regional Tournament Information

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Lewis University will host the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional women's basketball tournament March 9-12 at Neil Carey Arena on the University's main campus in Romeoville.

The Great Lakes Regional is one of eight regional tournaments that comprise the 64-team NCAA field. The eight regional champions advance to the Elite Eight in Kearney, Neb., March 21-24.

Lewis (27-3), which captured its first Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) title since 1985 by winning the GLVC Championship tournament, is the No. 1 seed. The Flyers will play No. 8 seed Bellarmine (GLVC, 19-10) in the regional quarterfinals Friday, March 9, at 6 p.m.

Lewis, ranked No. 9 in the nation and undefeated (11-0) at home this season, is making a third consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. The Flyers advanced to the second round last year by beating Lake Superior State 89-66, the program's first NCAA tournament victory.

Other Friday quarterfinal games match No. 6 seed Gannon (24-5), the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) champion, against defending national champion and No. 3 seed Grand Valley State (GLIAC, 21-7) at noon; No. 7 Ferris State (GLIAC, 21-8) and No. 2 Northern Kentucky (GLVC, 21-7) at 2:30; and No. 5 Southern Illinois Edwardsville (GLVC, 20-8) and No. 4 Drury (GLVC, 22-8) at 8:30.

Saturday's semifinals will match the Gannon-Grand Valley State and Ferris State-Northern Kentucky winners at 5 and the Bellarmine-Lewis and SIUE-Drury winners at 7:30. The regional championship game is scheduled for Monday at 7.

Advanced tickets for the Great Lakes Regional may be purchased by calling Lewis Athletics at (815) 836-5247 or by visiting the Lewis Athletics office, located adjacent to Neil Carey Arena.

Tickets are sold by session - Friday afternoon, Friday evening, Saturday and Monday - and are $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens, college students with ID and children ages 5-17. An all-sessions ticket for adults is available for $25.