Championship Central |
Tournament Bracket
INDIANAPOLIS – The 2019 GLVC Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament bracket was released by the Conference office Saturday evening following the finale of the 2018-19 regular season. Eight of the league’s 14 schools advanced to the postseason tournament after earning a spot based on the GLVC Point Rating System Rankings. The event will take place at the Vadalabene Center on the campus of SIU Edwardsville, March 8-10.
With a 91-34 win over William Jewell College Saturday, top-ranked Drury University (28-0, 18-0 GLVC, 4.69 PRS) earned the league’s outright regular-season title and became just the fourth women’s program in GLVC history to complete the Conference schedule unbeaten. This season marked the first time a program accomplished the feat since Lewis University went 18-0 in GLVC action during the 2015-16 campaign, while Drury went 19-0 in 2005-06, and University of Southern Indiana was a perfect 20-0 in 1996-97.
Drury enters the 2019 GLVC Championship Tournament looking to become the first team since the advent of the league’s postseason tournament in 1998 to win three straight Conference titles. Prior to the postseason event, former member Northern Kentucky University earned the 1986, 1987 and 1988 GLVC titles, while former member Saint Joseph’s College grabbed a share of the 1988 crown with NKU before winning outright titles in 1989 and 1990.
The top-seeded Panthers open tournament play against No. 8 McKendree University (13-14, 7-11, 2.81 PRS) at 6 p.m. CT on Friday, March 8. Drury defeated the Bearcats 72-55 in Lebanon, Illinois, on Jan. 17.
Lewis (26-2, 17-1, 4.28 PRS) garnered the No. 2 seed despite closing out the regular season with an 89-67 loss at Truman State. The 15th-ranked Flyers are set to open the postseason against No. 7 William Jewell (14-12, 8-01, 2.83 PRS) at 2:30 p.m. CT on Friday, March 8. Lewis defended its home court on Jan. 24 with an 82-74 over the Cardinals.
Southern Indiana (20-8, 13-5, 3.81 PRS), which narrowly defeated McKendree 75-73 this afternoon, earns the tournament’s No. 3 seed and will face No. 6 Bellarmine University (16-10, 10-8, 3.00 PRS) on Friday at 12 p.m. CT. The Screaming Eagles, who fell to Drury in the GLVC Championship final last year, opened the league slate this season with a 77-70 home win over Bellarmine on Dec. 1, but dropped a 66-61 decision to the Knights in Louisville, Kentucky on Feb. 2. Bellarmine is the only team outside of Drury to have claimed the GLVC title in the past four years, having earned the crown in 2016.
With its upset over 15th-ranked Lewis Saturday, Truman State (21-7, 12-6, 3.75 PRS) enters the postseason as the No. 4 seed and will battle No. 5 Maryville University (18-9, 12-6, 3.56 PRS) in Friday’s nightcap at 8:30 p.m. CT. The Saints earned an 85-78 victory on the road against the Bulldogs Jan. 19.
Both the women’s and men’s semifinals will commence on Saturday, March 9, as the men take to the court at noon and 2:30 p.m., followed by the women at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
The men’s GLVC Champion will be crowned at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 10, followed by the women’s final at 3:30 p.m.
All-Tournament passes are $45, while Session Flex Passes are $35, allowing access to any two of the first six sessions, excluding Sunday's finals. Single-session tickets are $20 for adults and $5 for students with a valid ID and youth 6-17 in age, while children ages 5 and under are admitted free of charge when accompanied by an adult.
For more information on the 2019 GLVC Basketball Championship Tournaments, log on to
GLVCsports.com/2019hoops.