ELMHURST, Ill. – The Western Illinois women's basketball team will be facing IUPUI in the opening round of the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament, Sunday March 4 at Noon in Tulsa, Okla.

For the first time since the 2000-01 season, Oakland claimed the top seed in the eight-team tournament after capturing the Mid-Con regular-season title. The winner of the Mid-Con Championship will receive the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

The Westerwinds (10-18, 6-8 Mid-Con) and the Jaguars (13-15, 7-7 Mid-Con) each earned victories on their home courts during the two regular-season meetings in 2006-07. Western took game one in Macomb, Ill., with a 61-48 advantage, while IUPUI claimed game two in Indianapolis, Ind., with a 34-31 win.

Junior Gina Hugelier was the top scorer for the Westerwinds in each outing, collecting 19 total points and adding six rebounds. In the Jan. 15 game in Western Hall, Hugelier went two-for-two from beyond the arc and added three steals to push the Westerwinds to victory.

IUPUI's Tanika Mays led the way during the series, with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Jernisha also turned in solid performances for the Jaguars, with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

No.1 seed Oakland (17-11, 12-2 Mid-Con) will face No. 8 seed Centenary (5-24, 1-13) at noon on Saturday, March 3, in the first game of the women's quarterfinal round. The second game of Saturday's women's doubleheader at 2:30 p.m. will feature second-seeded Valparaiso (19-10,11-3) against Southern Utah (9-19, 5-9), the seventh seed. On Sunday, fourth-seeded IUPUI (13-15, 7-7) squares off against No. 5 seed Western Illinois (10-18, 6-8) at noon, while No. 3 Oral Roberts (19-10, 8-6) faces sixth-seeded UMKC (10-19, 6-8) at 2:30 p.m.

The women's championship game is slated for 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 6, and will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

Fans wishing to purchase tickets for the 2007 Mid-Con Basketball Championships can visit www.mid-con.com and click on the tickets link on the Basketball Tourney page.

All eight women's games in the tournament will be available on www.mid-con.tv. The games can be purchased on a session-by-session basis for $4.95 or fans can purchase a Tournament Pass for $19.95. The only game not available on the web streaming package is the men's championship game, which can be seen live on ESPN.