Women's Tournament Bracket Set; Bryan Earns No. 1 Seed
WALESKA, Ga. - Everything came down to the final day, but the pairings are now set for the 2024 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Women's Basketball Tournament, and Bryan is the No. 1 seed.
The Lady Lions finished with a 21-1 conference record to capture the regular-season crown. As the No. 1 seed, Bryan receives a first-round bye as well as an automatic berth to the NAIA National Championship Tournament.
The top 10 teams advanced to the tournament, and the opening round will be played on Wednesday, Feb. 28. The entire tournament is being played at the MeadowView Marriott Convention Center & Conference Resort in Kingsport, Tenn.
The tournament champion will receive an automatic berth to the national tournament. Should Bryan win the tournament, the regular-season runner-up will receive the second bid.
All games will be live-streamed on the AAC Digital Network for free. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students each day. To purchase tickets, click here.
Here are the seeds for the tournament:
- Bryan (23-5 overall, 21-1 AAC)
- Reinhardt (24-2 overall, 20-2 AAC)
- Milligan (26-6 overall, 19-3 AAC)
- Pikeville (21-7 overall, 17-5 AAC)
- Johnson (17-11 overall, 15-7 AAC)
- Montreat (16-12 overall, 13-9 AAC)
- Tennessee Wesleyan (12-12 overall, 10-12 AAC)*
- Truett McConnell (11-17 overall, 10-12 AAC)*
- Columbia (12-16, 9-13 AAC)
- Union (8-20 overall, 8-14 AAC)**
*-Tennessee Wesleyan and Truett McConnell split the season series, but Tennessee Wesleyan's win over Reinhardt gave it the No. 7 seed.
**-Union and Brenau finished 8-14 in league play and split the season series, but Union's win over Montreat gave it the No. 10 seed.
Tournament Schedule
Wednesday, Feb. 29
Game 1 - No. 8 Truett McConnell (11-17) vs. No. 9 Columbia (12-16), 2:30 p.m.
Game 2 - No. 7 Tennessee Wesleyan (12-12) vs. No. 10 Union (8-20), 4:15 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 29
Game 3 - No. 1 Bryan (23-5) vs. Game 1 winner, 12 p.m.
Game 4 - No. 4 Pikeville (21-7) vs. No. 5 Johnson (17-11), 1:45 p.m.
Game 5 - No. 2 Reinhardt (24-2) vs. Game 2 winner, 7:30 p.m.
Game 6 - No. 3 Milligan (26-6) vs. No. 6 Montreat (16-12), 9:15 p.m.
Friday, March 1
Game 7 - Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 8 - Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 2
Game 9 - Championship Game - Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 3 p.m.