NORTHAMPTON, Mass.--The Smith College basketball team will see the 2010-11 season continue, with the news that the Pioneers have earned a bid to the ECAC New England Tournament.  The Pioneers enter as the No. 8 seed and will face the top seeded University of New England in a March 2 contest at 7 p.m.

The Nor'Easters, from Biddeford, Maine, are members of The Commonwealth Coast Conference, and sport a record of 21-7.  Like Smith, UNE also fell in its respective conference championship game, losing to Salve Regina University 76-74 on February 26, which snapped a 12 game winning streak. 

UNE is led by 5-10 junior guard Kelly Paradis, who is averaging 15.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 3.0 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game.  Senior guard Cassie Bunnell chips in at 13.6 points per game, shooting 39.3% from behind the arc, while junior forward Margo Russell is averaging 13.0 points per game, hitting 39.8% from three and 82.6% from the free throw line. 

Smith comes in with a record of 17-10; the 17 wins represent the second most in school history, only behind the 1995-96 squad, who finished with a record of 19-6.  First year Rosa Drummond (Rye, N.H./Portsmouth) leads Smith with a scoring average of 12.1 points per game, while pulling down 6.8 rebounds and shooting 85.1% from the charity stripe. Sophomore Lizzy BelBruno (Hanover, N.H./Hanover) is averaging 11.0 points per game and has scored in double-figures in four of her last five contests while shooting 35.8% from three.

The last time Smith and UNE met was on January 1, 1999, which resulted in an 83-70 Smith win.  This will be Smith's first  trip to the ECAC New England Tournament since 1996, where the Pioneers faced local rival Amherst College.  The game is one of four quarterfinals taking place on Wednesday night.  The semifinals and finals will be at the highest remaining seed on March 5-6. 

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Tournament Schedule


Quarterfinals at higher seeds:
Wednesday, March 2
No. 8 Smith at No. 1 University of New England
No. 7 Regis at No. 2 University of Southern Maine
No. 6 Mass. College of Liberal Arts at No. 3 Endicott
No. 5 Suffolk at No. 4 WPI

Semifinals and finals at highest remaining seed:
Saturday and Sunday, March 5-6