NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. - Eastern Connecticut State University earned the No. 1 seed in the 2009 Little East Women's Basketball Championship Tournament for the third time in the program's history. The Warriors matched the program's record for single-season conference wins with a 13-1 mark, sharing the honor with the 2001 team.

Western Connecticut State University, the University of Southern Maine, and Keene State College join Eastern Connecticut in hosting quarterfinal round action on Tuesday, Feb. 24. The four winners will advance to the semifinal round at the highest remaining seed on Friday, Feb. 27. The 2009 Little East Conference Championship will be crowned the following afternoon at 4 p.m. with the automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III Tournament at stake.

Eastern Connecticut State University secured the top seed and home court advantage throughout the conference tournament with a 69-45 win over the Owls on Tuesday night. The Warriors earned their record-setting victory at Rhode Island College this afternoon to complete the 13-win campaign in the Little East. Head Coach Denise Bierly has led her Warriors to a 14-game winning streak to help Eastern Connecticut rise to No. 14 in the latest edition of the D3Hoops.com national poll. The Warriors are ranked among the national leaders in scoring defense (6th, 49.8 ppg), win-lost percentage (7th, 91.3), field goal percentage defense (14th, 32.5), and three-point defense (20th, 25.2).  Eastern Connecticut will host eighth-seeded University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (3-22, 0-14 LEC) in the quarterfinal round at 7 p.m.

Western Connecticut matched the program's standard for Little East Conference victories with a 12-2 mark to earn the No. 2 seed. Head Coach Kimberly Rybczyk and her Colonials have won 19 of their past 21 contests-falling each time to Eastern Connecticut-to reach the 20-win plateau for the sixth time in the program's history since joining Division III in 1994 with a 20-4 overall record.  Western Connecticut will try to earn the program's 21st overall victory since 1999, when the Colonials host seventh-seeded University of Massachusetts Boston (5-20, 2-12) at 6 p.m.

The University of Southern Maine locked up the third seed in the annual tournament on Tuesday night with a win at Plymouth State (74-66). The Huskies have won three of their past four conference contests to raise their record to 9-5. Southern Maine won the tie-breaker with Keene State College with an overtime victory over top-seeded Eastern Connecticut on Jan. 10. The Huskies will welcome sixth-seeded Rhode Island College (10-15, 5-9) to the Hill Gymnasium at 6 p.m.

Keene State College (19-6, 9-5) will host intra-state rival Plymouth State University (16-9, 6-8) in the final quarterfinal matchup. Head Coach Keith Boucher and his Owls are just two wins shy of matching the program record for single-season wins since joining Division III in 1998. Keene State has won each of its meetings this season with the Panthers. Plymouth State enters the tournament winner of four of its past six contests to close out the regular season. The Panthers also earned the fifth seed in the 2006 tournament field.   

2009 Little East Women's Basketball Championship Tournament
Quarterfinal Round, Tuesday, Feb. 24-at highest seed
#8 UMass Dartmouth at #1 Eastern Connecticut State University, 7 p.m.
#7 UMass Boston at #2 Western Connecticut State University, 6 p.m.
#6 Rhode Island College at #3 University of Southern Maine, 7 p.m.
#5 Plymouth State University at #4 Keene State College, 5:30 p.m.

Semifinal Round, Friday, Feb. 27-at the highest remaining seed