2018 Northeast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament

The 2018 Northeast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament was the concluding event of the 2017–18 season of the Northeast Conference (NEC), held from March 7–11, 2018. Unlike most NCAA Division I basketball conference tournaments, the NEC tournament does not include all of the league's teams. The tournament instead features only the top eight teams from regular-season NEC play.[1] Regular-season co-champion Saint Francis of Pennsylvania won the tournament and with it the NEC's automatic berth in the 2018 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament.[2]

2018 Northeast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season2017–18
Teams8
Quarterfinals siteDeGol Arena &
Student Recreation and Fitness Center
Loretto, Pennsylvania &
Moon Township, Pennsylvania
Semifinals siteDeGol Arena &
Student Recreation and Fitness Center
Loretto, Pennsylvania &
Moon Township, Pennsylvania
Finals siteDeGol Arena
Loretto, Pennsylvania
ChampionsSaint Francis (PA) (12th title)
Winning coachJoe Haigh (1st title)
MVPJessica Kovatch (Saint Francis (PA))
Top scorerJessica Kovatch (Saint Francis (PA))
(103 points)
2017–18 Northeast Conference women's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Robert Morris16–2 .889  25–8  .758
Saint Francis (PA) †16–2 .889  24–10  .706
Sacred Heart9–9 .500  14–17  .452
St. Francis Brooklyn9–9 .500  13–17  .433
LIU Brooklyn8–10 .444  13–18  .419
Bryant8–10 .444  9–21  .300
Fairleigh Dickinson7–11 .389  15–15  .500
Central Connecticut7–11 .389  7–23  .233
Mount St. Mary's6–12 .333  9–20  .310
Wagner4–14 .222  6–23  .207
† 2018 NEC Tournament winner
As of March 17, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll

Format

For the first time, the NEC Women's Basketball Tournament did not use what the conference calls a "complete high-seed hosting" format, in which all games are played at the home of the higher seed. In addition, the tournament did not reseed teams after each round, a format it had used since the 2011 edition. Instead, each half of the bracket was hosted by one of the league's two top seeds. The final continues to be played at the home court of the top remaining seed.[1]

Seeds

The NEC uses the following criteria for breaking two-way ties in the conference standings:[3]

  • Head-to-head record.
  • Record against the top team not involved in the tie. If more than one team is tied for a given conference placing, the teams' combined records against all teams involved in that tie are compared instead.
  • If the tie is not broken, repeat the above step with the next-lowest team not involved in the tie, with the noted caveat in the case of a tie for that placing. Repeat as necessary.
  • If the tie is not broken after cycling through the entire conference table, RPI is used.

The procedure for breaking ties in which three or more teams are involved will not be discussed here, since no such ties existed this season.

Seed School Conference Overall Tiebreaker 1 Tiebreaker 2 Tiebreaker 3
1 Saint Francis (PA) 16–2 21–9 1–1 vs. RMU 3–1 vs. SFB/SHU, 12–0 vs. remainder of NEC RPI: 117
2 Robert Morris 16–2 23–6 1–1 vs. SFU 3–1 vs. SFB/SHU, 12–0 vs. remainder of NEC RPI: 132
3 St. Francis Brooklyn 9–9 13–16 1–1 vs. SHU 1–3 vs. SFU/RMU, 4–0 vs. Bryant/LIUB
4 Sacred Heart 9–9 13–16 1–1 vs. SFB 1–3 vs. SFU/RMU, 2–2 vs. Bryant/LIUB
5 Bryant 8–10 9–20 1–1 vs. LIUB 0–4 vs. SFU/RMU, 3–1 vs. SFB/SHU
6 LIU Brooklyn 8–10 12–17 1–1 vs. Bryant 0–4 vs. SFU/RMU, 1–3 vs. SFB/SHU
7 Central Connecticut 7–11 7–22 1–1 vs. FDU 0–4 vs. SFU/RMU, 3–1 vs. SFB/SHU
8 Fairleigh Dickinson 7–11 15–14 1–1 vs. CC 0–4 vs. SFU/RMU, 2–2 vs. SFB/SHU

Bracket
Quarterfinals
Wednesday, March 7
NEC Front Row 		Semifinals
Thursday, March 8
ESPN3 		Championship
Sunday, March 11
ESPNU
         
1 Saint Francis (PA) 89
8 Fairleigh Dickinson 70
1 Saint Francis (PA) 78
4 Sacred Heart 47
4 Sacred Heart 80
5 Bryant 63
1 Saint Francis (PA) 66
2 Robert Morris 56
2 Robert Morris 60
7 Central Connecticut 54
2 Robert Morris 74
6 LIU Brooklyn 44
3 St. Francis Brooklyn 56
6 LIU Brooklyn 59

The top two seeds each hosted their half of the bracket; the final was hosted by the top remaining seed.

All-tournament team

Tournament MVP in bold.[2]

Name School
Jessica Kovatch Saint Francis (PA)
Caitlyn Kroll Saint Francis (PA)
Jocelynne Jones Robert Morris
Denisha Petty-Evans LIU Brooklyn
Tykera Carter Sacred Heart

References
  1. "Seeds Are Set in #NEC18 Women's Bracket; Saint Francis Won Extensive Tiebreaker to Snag Top Spot" (Press release). Northeast Conference. March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  2. "Red Letter Day! Saint Francis U Wins 12th NEC Women's Basketball Championship". Northeast Conference. Associated Press. March 11, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  3. "NEC Basketball Tiebreaker Procedure". Northeast Conference. March 3, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
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