Ferrum, VA - For the first time since joining the USA South Athletic Conference in the 2012-13 school year, the Piedmont College women's basketball team is readying to prepare for a run in the league's postseason tourney, a journey which begins with today's 5:00 pm matchup against Methodist University. The Lady Lions posted a second place finish in the South Division of the USA South and match up with the #3 seed from the North in the Monarchs of Methodist.
The Lady Lions learned of their quarterfinal foe earlier this week upon the conclusion of the 2013-14 USA South regular season. Their February 27th date with Methodist University is a rematch of a contest between the two earlier this season that took place at the home of the Monarchs in Fayetteville, NC, but this time the action comes on a neutral court as all games in the 2014 championship tourney will take place at the home of the #1 overall seed in the championships, Ferrum College.
Piedmont defeated Methodist earlier this season 73-54 in that matchup from January 18th, a game in which each team struggled to score from the outside as the two combined to shoot four of 26 (15.3%) from beyond the three point arc. The Lady Lions had three score in double figures that afternoon with
Carly Sales and Le'Shaunda Jones each scoring a dozen while
Taylor Swoszowski scored ten to add to the totals as PC came away with the 19-point victory.
This season has been a rebound year for the usually strong Lady Lion basketball program under Head Coach
Jamie Purdy after her 2012-13 team failed to make the championship field in their debut year in the USA South Athletic Conference. However, this season, the Lady Lions have returned to their championship form posting a 17-8 overall record and an 11-5 USA South mark.
Piedmont won its first five conference games in 2013-14 one year after winning only six games in the entire season going 6-12 in league action during the 2012-13 campaign. Despite the turnaround, Piedmont's road to a conference title won't be an easy one as they could face the tourney's #1 overall seed in Ferrum College in the semifinals should they make it past Methodist University today in the quarterfinals. Perennial conference rivals Maryville or LaGrange could also be a team waiting for PC should they make it all the way to the final, but a great deal of basketball remains to be played in Swartz Gynasium.
Fans who cannot make it to Ferrum, Virginia can enjoy the game over the world wide web with
Live stats and
live video provided by the Office of Sports Information at Ferrum College. Additionally, also making the trip to cover the Lady Lions is WCON of Cornelia who will broadcast the game on local frequencies, AM 1450 and FM 107.7, as well as
online or by using the TuneIn app setting the dial on WCON of Cornelia.
Coverage links are available on the women's basketball schedule as well as the Piedmont home page at PiedmontLions.com.
Full tournament coverage can be found at USASouth.net while complete tournament seeding and schedules for the 2014 USA South Women's Basketball Tournament Championship can be found below. All games at the 2014 USA South Women's Basketball Tournament Championship will be hosted in Ferrum's Swartz Gymnasium.
The 2014 Women's Basketball Tournament seeding is as follows:
|
North Division |
|
Seed |
Team |
Record |
|
#1 |
Ferrum |
17-2 |
|
#2 |
Greensboro |
16-3 |
|
#3 |
Methodist |
11-8 |
|
#4 |
N.C. Wesleyan |
10-9 |
|
#5 |
Meredith |
7-12 |
|
-- |
Averett |
6-13 |
|
-- |
William Peace |
5-14 |
|
-- |
Mary Baldwin |
0-19 |
|
|
South Division |
|
|
#1 |
Maryville |
13-3 |
|
#2 |
Piedmont |
11-5 |
|
#3 |
LaGrange |
9-7 |
|
-- |
Huntingdon |
7-9 |
|
-- |
Covenant |
4-12 |
Women's Basketball Tournament Schedule
First Round - Thursday, February 27, 2014
#2 North-Greensboro vs. #3 South-LaGrange - 1:00pm
#1 South-Maryville vs. #4 North-N.C. Wesleyan - 3:00pm
#2 South-Piedmont vs. #3 North-Methodist - 5:00pm
#1 North-Ferrum vs. #5 North-Meredith - 7:00pm
Semifinals - Friday, February 28, 2014
#2 North/#3 South Winner vs. #1 South/#4 North Winner - 5:00pm
#2 South/#3 North Winner vs. #1 North/#5 North Winner - 7:00pm
Finals - Saturday, March 1, 2014
Semifinal Winners - 2:00pm
