March 16, 2009

LUBBOCK, Texas - The field for the NCAA Women's Basketball Division I Championships were announced Monday evening and Texas Tech will host three teams from the state of Texas and a relative newcomer to the Division I scene.

Big 12 Conference tournament winners and No. 2-seed Baylor headline the Lubbock First/Second Rounds, which get underway at 6 p.m. Sunday at United Spirit Arena. The Bears will face No. 15 UT-San Antonio in the second game at 8:30 p.m. CT, while No. 7 South Dakota State and No. 10 TCU square off in the opener at 6 p.m. Sunday. Both games will be televised live on ESPN2 with Ron Franklin and Fran Fraschilla calling the action. The winners will meet in the second round Tuesday at 8:30 p.m.

In only its fourth season at the Division I level, South Dakota State stormed through the 2008-09 campaign to a 31-2 record and 17-1 mark in the Summit League. Jennifer Warkenthien is averaging 15.1 points per game and 8.6 rebounds for the Jackrabbits, which advanced to the Women's NIT quarterfinals a year ago. Kristin Rotert adds 10.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.

The Horned Frogs wrapped up the season with a 20-10 record and 12-4 Mountain West Conference mark. Helena Sverrisdottir leads the group with 16.0 points and 7.4 rebounds, while TK LaFleur is chipping in 14.8 points and 5.5 boards.

Baylor finished the season 27-5 and 12-4 in the Big 12 Conference, including a win over Texas A&M in the conference tournament final last Saturday in Oklahoma City. Danielle Wilson leads the team with 15.1 points per game and 9.6 rebounds, while Jessica Morrow adds 11.8 points and 3.1 boards.

Winners of the Southland Conference postseason tournament, UT-San Antonio enters this weekend with a 24-8 record and 14-2 conference mark. Monica Gibbs is averaging 15.6 points per game and 9.4 rebounds, while Onika Anderson contributes 13.6 points and 10.5 boards.

While the teams have common opponents on their respective schedules, only two of the four faced each other during the regular season. TCU knocked off UT-San Antonio, 73-60, in Fort Worth back in November.