March 14, 2011
Ticket Information
NCAA Bracket
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -
The Samford women's basketball team has earned a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will take on the third-seeded Florida State Seminoles in Auburn, Ala., in a first round game to be played Sunday afternoon in the Auburn Arena.
Samford learned where it was headed at a viewing party hosted at a packed Hamburger Heaven on Oxmoor Road in Homewood.
"I was very pleased that it was Auburn," Samford head coach Mike Morris said. "I think it rewards our fans and our community to have the opportunity to drive down 280 to watch our team play. But, just to see our name on that bracket on ESPN kind of solidifies what we've done so far."
The Bulldogs earned the first NCAA Tournament bid in the history of the women's basketball program with a 57-54 win over Appalachian State in the championship game of the Southern Conference Tournament on March 7. Samford set a program record this year with 25 wins (25-7).
Florida State is currently 23-7 overall and 11-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Samford and Florida State have met once before. On Dec. 27, 2007, Florida State defeated Samford, 52-51 on a layup with one second left in Tallahassee, Fla.
"We know a little about Florida State," Morris said. "Hopefully we'll know a lot more in the next couple of days."
This marks the second-straight season Samford has earned a bid to a national postseason tournament. Last season, the Bulldogs went to the WNIT where they defeated Ole Miss in the first round by a score of 66-65.
"It's just exciting for all of us to be in this position," senior forward Savannah Hill said. "It's an honor to get to play in the NCAA Tournament."
This will be the second time this season Samford has played an Atlantic Coast Conference team. The Bulldogs defeated Clemson, 58-48, on Dec. 12, in the Pete Hanna Center.
"It feels great," senior guard Emily London said. "It's exciting that we are close to home so hopefully we'll have good fan support."
Sunday's game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start. The game will be televised on ESPN2. The game can also be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu.
