WINTHROP, Mass. – Emmanuel College has earned the right to the No. 1 seed in next week's 2020 GNAC Women's Basketball Tournament, while Saint Joseph's College of Maine, Regis College and Suffolk University will also host quarterfinal contests on Tuesday, February 25. For the complete schedule, please see below.
Having beat Emmanuel back on January 25, Regis had a chance to secure the top seed with a win in Saturday's regular-season finale on the road at Saint Joseph's, however the Monks handled the Pride, 62-46 earlier today. That allows SJC, which fell at Emmanuel head-to-head last weekend, to stay in the No. 2 position while Emmanuel hangs onto the top seed.
EC will seek its second straight GNAC crown and 17th in program history when it hosts eighth-seeded Norwich University on Tuesday at 7:30 PM as part of a doubleheader with its men's program, while the St. Joe's women will welcome seventh-seeded Johnson & Wales University (RI) at 7:00 PM. JWU nailed down the No. 7 spot by defeating Norwich, 57-46, in Saturday's regular-season finale.
Regis, following tiebreaks, cemented the No. 3 seed for the Pride's highest positioning in the GNAC Tournament since joining the conference three years ago. Regis will host sixth-seeded Colby-Sawyer College, which joined the GNAC just two years ago, in the quarterfinals for a 6:30 PM tip-off on Tuesday evening.
Suffolk nailed down the fourth seed due to its head-to-head victory back on Jan. 16 over Albertus Magnus College, 65-59, which means Albertus will travel to Suffolk (7:00 PM) in Tuesday's quarters as the No. 5 seed.
Be sure to catch all the 2020 tournament action live on thegnac.tv or watch on one of our four custom digital streaming apps.
With no reseeding throughout the playoffs, the advancing teams will play in the semifinals on Thursday night (Feb. 27), while the championship game will be hosted by the highest seed next Saturday (Feb. 29) afternoon. The 2020 GNAC Champion will earn the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Tournament, as the field will be announced on Monday, March 3 at 2:30 PM.
Quarterfinals - Tuesday, February 25 (at high seeds)
Game 1: #8 Norwich at #1 Emmanuel - 7:30 PM
Game 2: #5 Albertus Magnus at #4 Suffolk - 7:00 PM
Game 3: #6 Colby-Sawyer at #3 Regis - 6:30 PM
Game 4: #7 JWU at #2 Saint Joseph's Maine - 7:00 PM
Semifinals - Thursday, February 27 (at high seeds)
Game 5: #4/5 winner vs. #1/8 winner
Game 6: #3/6 winner vs. #2/7 winner
Championship - Saturday, February 29 (at highest remaining seed)
Game 7: At highest remaining seed
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
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COURTESY OF GNAC SPORTS INFORMATION OFFICE
