The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) announced its women's pairings for the 2013 MEAC Basketball Tournament, March 11-16, at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia.  The three-time defending MEAC Tournament champion Hampton Lady Pirates will enter the tournament as the top seed after concluding the regular-season with a 16-0 mark in MEAC play.

Hampton’s unblemished record marked the fifth time in conference history that a women’s basketball team has gone undefeated in MEAC play. Coppin State was the last team to accomplish the feat with an 18-0 record during the 2006-07 season.

The Lady Pirates earned the tournament’s first-round bye and will open up play on Wednesday, March 13 at noon. They will face the winner of the No. 8 Bethune-Cookman vs. No. 9 Delaware State matchup slated for Tuesday, March 12 at 11 a.m.

Games will start on Monday, March 11 with No. 4 South Carolina State vs. No. 13 Savannah State at 11 a.m. and No. 5 Coppin State vs. No. 12 North Carolina Central at 1:30 p.m.

North Carolina A&T finished the season with a 13-3 mark to secure the number two seed and the runners-up trophy, while Howard earned the third seed with a 12-4 mark in MEAC play. The Lady Aggies will meet the winner of No. 7 Florida A&M vs. No. 10 Norfolk State on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. FAMU and NSU will open up tournament play on Tuesday, March 12 at 1:30 p.m. Norfolk State won the tiebreaker over Maryland Eastern Shore to secure the No. 10 spot.

The Lady Bison of Howard will face the winner of No. 6 Morgan State/No. 11 Maryland Eastern Shore on Monday, March 11 at 4 p.m.   

The 2013 regular season champion, regular season runners-up, first-team members and top honorees including Player, Rookie, Defensive and Coach of the Year selections, will be recognized in pre-game presentations prior to the honorees first games in tournament play. 

The 2013 MEAC Basketball Tournament tips-off Monday, March 11, and will conclude on Saturday, March 16 with the men’s and women’s championship games.  The women’s game will begin at 1 p.m. and will be tape-delayed on ESPNU. It will air the following day, Sunday, March 17, at 11 a.m. The men’s finale will begin at 5 p.m. and will broadcast live on ESPNU.  The preliminary games will also be streamed live on www.MEACsports.com.  Live statistics of all games will be available on the conferences’ official website and the tournament’s official website, www.MEAChoops.com.

For tournament information, log on to www.MEAChoops.com.   For the latest on MEAC sports, visitwww.MEACsports.com.

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