ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- The sixth-seeded Samford women's basketball team will open play in the 2017 Southern Conference Tournament by taking on third-seeded East Tennessee State Thursday at 5:15 p.m. (CT) at the U.S. Cellular Center.
 
The winner of the Samford-ETSU game will advance to the SoCon semifinals to face the winner of the Mercer-Wofford contest Friday at 12:15 p.m. (CT). The championship game of the tournament is scheduled for Sunday at 12 p.m. (CT).
 
Samford and ETSU will be meeting for the eighth time ever in women's basketball, with Samford holding a 4-3 advantage in the series. The teams met twice this season, with ETSU winning both contests. In the first meeting on Jan. 7 in the Pete Hanna Center, ETSU defeated Samford by a score of 69-57. On Feb. 2, ETSU earned a 61-56 win in Johnson City, Tenn. Thursday night's game marks the first time the two programs have met in the postseason.
 
Samford finished the regular season with a record of 11-18 overall and 4-10 in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs are coming off a 76-68 loss to SoCon co-champion Mercer Saturday in Birmingham.
 
Samford had three players honored when the SoCon released its postseason awards Tuesday morning. Junior guard Hannah Nichols was named second team All-SoCon by both the coaches and the media. Freshman guard Katie Allen was named to the coaches All-Freshman team, while freshman forward Samantha Fitzgerald was named to the media's All-Freshman team.
 
The Bulldogs were led in scoring this season by Nichols, averaging 13.7 points per game. Junior guard Kassidy Blevins averages 9.3 points per game for Samford.
 
Senior Lydia McGee averages 4.6 rebounds per game for Samford. Fellow senior Ellen Riggins pulls down 3.9 boards per contest.
 
Senior Brittany Stevens is the team leader in assists, dishing out 2.9 assists per game. Riggins averages 2.3 assists per game for the Bulldogs.
 
ETSU ended its regular season with a mark of 16-13 overall and 8-6 in SoCon games. The Bucs are coming off a 75-66 win over Furman last Saturday.
 
The Bucs are led in scoring by Tianna Tarter, averaging 19.2 points per game. Shamauria Bridges averages 15.5 points per game.
 
Raven Dean leads the team in rebounding, averaging 6.7 boards per contest. Tarter averages 6.1 rebounds per game.
 
Tarter is also the team leader in assists, dishing out 4.8 assists per game. Dean averages 1.0 assist per contest.  
 
All Samford games in the tournament can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. All tournament games can be seen on ESPN3.
 
Below are links to follow Thursday's game.
 
GAME NOTES
 
WVSU BROADCAST
 
SOCON TOURNAMENT CENTRAL