HOLY FAMILY AND DOMINICAN CLAIM TOP SEEDS FOR CACC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

Courtesy of Kirk Reed, Assistant Commissioner of the CACC

New Haven, CT (2/28/08) Holy Family University has claimed the top seed in the South Division and Dominican College will be the top seed in the North Division for the upcoming Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Women's Basketball Tournament. Holy Family is the fourth-ranked team in the country and currently sports a 27-0 overall record and finished with an 18-0 conference mark. Four teams from each division qualified for the tournament, which tips off on Saturday, March 1, at campus sites. Some games are available to view at www.CACC.tv. Visit the website for further details.

Holy Family won last season's CACC Tournament Championship and has won 66 consecutive regular-season conference games. The Tigers will be hosting No. 4 University of the Sciences in Philadelphia on Saturday at 2:00 pm. Holy Family won both regular-season games against USP, by scores of 78-58 on Dec. 1 at USP and 74-52 at home on Jan. 23. CACC Player of the Year Kelly Killion posted 17 points for Holy Family in both meetings. Holy Family's Catherine Carr, the CACC Rookie of the Year, registered 22 points in the home victory. USP junior Allison Weiss notched a double-double in the second match-up with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

In addition to Killion (first team) and Carr (second team), Holy Family sophomore center Christine McCollum was a third team All-CACC selection. USP sophomore center Erin Chesnavich was a first team pick, while Weiss was named to the third team.

Dominican will serve as the top seed in the North Division with a 14-3 record and a 20-7 overall mark. The Chargers will host Nyack College (10-16, 7-10 CACC) in Saturday's opening round at 2:00 pm. The Chargers and Warriors split their two regular-season meetings. Dominican won the first contest at Nyack on January 17, 71-51, while Nyack returned the favor, 59-57, on February 5. Junior Althea Chambers led the Chargers in their victory with 18 points and six rebounds. Nyack was led by Kelsy McIntosh's 19 points in its upset victory.

Dominican lost in the opening round of the CACC Tournament last season, and this is Nyack's first tournament appearance since the 2002-03 season.

Wilmington earned the No. 2 seed in the South Division with a 13-5 CACC record and a 19-8 overall mark. The Wildcats will host No. 3 Philadelphia University (19-8, 12-6 CACC) in the opening round on Saturday at 2:00 pm. Philadelphia fell to Holy Family in last year's CACC Championship game.

The Wildcats swept the season series from the Lady Rams, winning by scores of 83-71 on Dec. 21 in Philadelphia and 67-60 in overtime in Wilmington on Feb. 2. Both the Wildcats and Lady Rams are two of the hottest teams in the region, as each has won six straight games. Three Wildcats were named to the All-CACC team in sophomore forward Amelia Simmons (first team), senior center Nordia Henry (second team) and senior guard Sherrelle Holmes (third team). Philadelphia sophomore center Jessica Romano was a first team selection, while senior Ashley Webster was named to the second team.

Bloomfield captured the No. 2 seed in the North Division and will host No. 3 Caldwell College (17-10, 10-7 CACC) on Saturday at 2:00 pm. Caldwell swept the season series from the Deacons, winning 76-57 at home on Jan. 16 and 53-36 at Bloomfield on Feb. 7. Caldwell did not qualify for postseason play last season and Bloomfield (14-13, 11-6) was eliminated in the opening round.

Both Caldwell and Bloomfield feature two All-CACC players. For Caldwell, junior forward Mackenzie Lynch was named to the third team and senior guard Dana Leary was an honorable mention. Senior guard Ciera Darby of Bloomfield was a third team pick and senior forward Marissa Franklin was an honorable mention selection.

Game times for the semifinal round on Wednesday, March 5, are tentatively slated for 7:00 pm. The highest remaining seed in the south will host the lowest seed left in the north. The north's highest remaining seed will host the south's lowest seed still in the tournament. The two semifinal winners will vie for the championship at 2:00 pm on Saturday, March 8, at the gym of the higher seed.

CACC Tournament Quarterfinal Round, Saturday, March 1

South #4 USP at South #1 Holy Family-2:00 pm

South #3 Philadelphia at South #2 Wilmington-2:00 pm

North #4 Nyack at North #1 Dominican-2:00 pm

North #3 Caldwell at North #2 Bloomfield-2:00 pm

Semifinals, Wednesday, March 5

TBA

Championship, Saturday, March 8

2:00 pm, at gym of highest remaining seed