Playoff Preview #1

"The cards are on the table now/And every other cliche somehow fits me like a glove."
-- Aztec Camera, "The Bugle Sounds Again"

Time to dust off the cliches -- it's tournament time in the WVIAC.
There's no tomorrow.
Everybody needs to step it up a notch.
This is what every team plays for.
It's one-and-done, so there's no room for slip-ups.
Etc.

But seriously, folks, this is the most exciting time of the WVIAC season. Sixteen teams in eight venues playing for a spot in the quarterfinals in West Virginia's "Big House" -- the Charleston Civic Center.

The women start their playoffs first. Concord visits Shepherd tonight.

Concord is one of a remarkable ten teams to get through the league schedule with a winning record. Unfortunately, the Lady Lions are seeded 10th out of those ten, and must visit 7th-seeded Shepherd.
Concord's home losses to West Virginia State February 21st and Charleston last Wednesday ultimately knocked them out of the top eight. And the Lady Lions started slowly before coming alive in the second half to rout Bluefield State 65-39 in their final regular season game Saturday afternoon.
Concord had a wonderful inside-outside mix against the Lady Blues. First-team All-WVIAC center Amber Schowalter did the double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds, complemented by guard Meghan Cole's season-high 21 points and 5-8 3-point shooting.
Concord goes into the playoffs with seven wins in its last nine games. During that stretch, the Lady Lions have shot .489 while limiting opponents to .342.

Shepherd closed out the regular season by winning three straight, five of six and 10 out of 14. They're off two impressive road wins -- 55-53 at 4th-seeded Fairmont State last Monday and 66-58 at #5 Pitt-Johnstown two days ago -- that vaulted them into the top eight.
The Lady Rams feature Katie Warehime, who's in the league top ten in scoring, FG%, FT%, blocked shots and offensive rebounds. They also have one of the conference's top point guards in Jerica Hewitt, who's among the conference leaders in assists, steals and assist-turnover ratio.

The Lady Rams have won six straight home games after losing four of their first six at the Butcher Athletic Center.
They also may be a little cranky about their first meeting with Concord this season -- a heated, physical 87-67 Lady Lions win January 24 that saw Rams coach Jodie Runner pick up two technical fouls and get ejected -- much to the consternation of a large contingent of Shepherd fans who made the long trip to Athens.
So the Rams may have a playoff-sized chip on their shoulders for the rematch.

Catch tonight's game starting at 7:10 pm EST on the air at WMTD 102.3 FM The New River, and on-line at theriver102.com.