Posted: Feb 25, 2015

Familiar Teams Find Way To SLIAC Women's Basketball Tournament

The Tournament
Familiar teams will battle it out in Louisville, Kentucky for the 2015 SLIAC Women's Basketball Tournament. Eureka College, Spalding University, and Westminster College all return from last year while Greenville College joins the group in the title chase.

Spalding earned the #1 seed after going 17-1 in conference action this year. They will face #4 seed Greenville College at 8 p.m. on Thursday, February 26. The other semi-final game will pit #2 seed Westminster College against #3 seed Eureka College at 6 p.m. that evening. The SLIAC Championship game will be Saturday, February 28 at 1 p.m. (EST) in Louisville, Ky.

Broadcast Information
The Championship Game of this year's SLIAC Women's Basketball Tournament will be broadcast live on College Casts. You can listen to the game HERE You can also watch Video Stream HERE

Tournament Tidbits

This marks the third consecutive year that Eureka, Spalding, and Westminster will be participants in the SLIAC Women's Basketball Tournament.
Both Eureka and Greenville are searching for their first SLIAC Tournament title.
Eureka is making their fourth consecutive tournament appearance, and are 1-3 all-time.
Eureka went 2-4 against the tournament field this year.
Greenville is making their sixth tournament appearance, and will be looking for their first post-season win in program history.
Greenville is making their first appearance since 2011.
Greenville went 1-5 against the tournament field this season.
Spalding won their first SLIAC title last year, defeating Webster 60-58 in the championship game.
Spalding is making their third consecutive tournament trip, with a 2-1 all-time record.
Spalding was 6-0 against the tournament field this year.
Westminster has won two SLIAC Tournament Championships, 2012 and 2013.
Westminster has made 15 tournament appearances, and hold a 9-12 all-time record.
Westminster was 3-3 against the tournament field this year.

	EUREKA COLLEGE "RED DEVILS" Eureka College finished the regular season with a 13-12 overall record and earned the #3 seed with a 10-8 SLIAC mark. The Red Devils enter the tournament on a two game losing streak, falling to Webster and Iowa Wesleyan at the end of the regular season. They are just 5-5 in their last ten games, which followed a season best four game winning streak in the middle of January. Eureka is the third highest scoring team in the SLIAC, averaging 67.4 points per game and are second in rebounding at 43.5 per game. They are led by senior Kelsey Shoemake, who is averaging 17.8 points and 13.6 rebounds per game. Shoemake set a conference record for rebounds in a season this year, currently with 340. Junior Emily Camden is the team's top outside threat, hitting 37.9 percent of her three's while averaging 15.7 points per game.
	GREENVILLE COLLEGE "PANTHERS" Greenville begins postseason play with a 12-13 overall record and finished the SLIAC regular season with a 9-9 mark. The Panthers are 5-5 in their last 10 games but have won three consecutive outings, knocking off Principia, Blackburn, and Webster. Greenville is averaging 64.6 points per game, fifth most in the SLIAC. They are the second best offensive rebounding team in the league and led the conference in blocked shots. Freshman Laura Goodnight led the team in scoring during the regular season at 12.9 points per game while sophomore Taylor Paulin is the top outside threat, averaging 9.6 points per game. Junior forward Coley Baker is the team's inside presence, averaging 6.2 points and 4.0 rebounds per game while leading the conference in blocked shots with 69 this season.
	SPALDING UNIVERSITY "GOLDEN EAGLES" Spalding comes into the SLIAC tournament with a 20-4 overall record and won their first SLIAC regular season title in program history with a 17-1 record this year. The Golden Eagles appear to be peaking at the right time, having won six consecutive games and putting up 91 points in their final regular season game (against Westminster), their third highest total this season. Spalding is averaging 70.7 points per game this season, best in the conference, while also holding opponents to a conference low 32.8 percent shooting. The Golden Eagles are a two headed monster with freshman Kayla Styles (17.1 points and 9.8 rebounds per game) and senior Jessica Guy (13.5 points and 10.4 rebounds per game). The duo combined to win four SLIAC Player of the Week awards this season with all four wins coming since January 12.
	WESTMINSTER COLLEGE "BLUE JAYS" Westminster finished the regular season with a 17-7 overall record and a 14-4 mark in the SLIAC. The Blue Jays are 10-2 in their last 12 games with their only losses coming to Iowa Wesleyan and Spalding. Westminster is averaging 70.2 points per game, second in the SLIAC, and are the conference's most efficient shooting team; shooting 42.2 percent from the field. The Blue Jays are a balanced team with four players averaging at least 9.8 points this season. Leading the way is junior Kasey Gatson at 14.5 points per game, while leading the conference in three-point shooting percentage. Andrea Zalis, a sophomore, is averaging 13.9 points per game and led the team with 49 made three's while junior Mackenzie Haddox is averaging 10.8 points per game and has 101 assists this year.

December 2, 2015