Nick Matkovich & Paul Day
1st seed: DePaul, 24-3 (13-1)
Leading scorer: Khara Smith, 18.2 ppg
Last game: The Blue Demons opened with a 19-0 run against Marquette Sunday and posted a 77-56 win over the Golden Eagles.
Quote: "We opened the season with a loss against Marquette," DePaul head coach Doug Bruno said. "You never know how a team is going to respond to a loss but Jenni Dant and Khara Smith really took hold of the team and elevated their game to the next level."
Second round opponent: winner of East Carolina vs. Memphis
2) Louisville, 20-7 (11-3)
Leading scorer: Jazz Covington, 18.3 ppg
Last game: Louisville shot 51.2 percent from the field and defeated Cincinnati, 61-58, sweeping the season series with the rival Bearcats.
Quote: "Our goal the whole year has been to win the conference tournament and not even worry about the NCAA Tournament," Louisville head coach Tom Collen said.
Second round opponent: winner of Marquette vs. Alabama-Birmingham
3) Houston, 20-7 (10-4)
Leading scorer: Sancho Lyttle, 18.5 ppg
Last game: Houston clinched a first-round bye in the Conference USA tournament and avenged a loss earlier in the season when it won, 61-52, at Texas Christian Sunday.
Quote: "We're going to saddle up and ride (Lyttle) through the tournament as far as we can go," Houston head coach Joe Curl said.
Second round opponent: winner of Charlotte vs. Cincinnati
4) Texas Christian, 20-9 (10-4)
Leading scorer: Sandora Irvin, 20.0 ppg
Last game: In the loss to Houston, TCU wasted another stellar performance from Irvin. The senior forward had 21 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks in her final home game.
Quote: Irvin "has forced us to re-evaluate what a good game is for her," TCU head coach Jeff Mittie said.
Second round opponent: winner of South Florida vs. Southern Miss
5) South Florida, 19-9 (9-5)
Leading scorer: Jessica Dickson, 17.1 ppg
Last game: Dickson led the Bulls with 34 points in a 70-43 home rout of UAB Saturday and helped extended USF's winning streak to five games.
Quote: Dickson "really worked hard in the offseason to develop her range and develop creating her own shot off the dribble," South Florida head coach Jose Fernandez said.
First round opponent: Southern Mississippi, 2:30 p.m. Thursday
6) Charlotte, 21-7 (9-5)
Leading scorer: Sakellie Daniels, 14.3 ppg
Last game: The tournament host 49ers overcame an 11-point second half deficit Saturday to defeat host East Carolina, 68-66.
Quote: "After we came back from Greenville (N.C., home of East Carolina) there has been pure excitement around here for the tournament," Charlotte head coach Katie Meier said.
First round opponent: Cincinnati, 5 p.m. Thursday
7) Marquette, 17-10 (8-6)
Leading scorer: Christina Quaye, 15.5 ppg
Last game: Marquette, which registered impressive home wins over DePaul, Houston and TCU this season, continued to struggle on the road with a 77-56 loss at DePaul.
Quote: "We have to quickly forget what happened on Sunday and move forward to the conference tournament," Marquette head coach Terri Mitchell said.
First round opponent: UAB, 7:30 p.m. Thursday
8) East Carolina, 10-17 (6-8)
Leading scorer: Jennifer Jackson, 16.5 ppg
Last game: The Lady Pirates shot just 32.1 percent in the second half and lost to Charlotte, 68-66, in their regular season finale.
Quote: Memphis "plays a quick game where they push the ball down the floor," East Carolina head coach Sharon Baldwin-Tener said. "We have to be ready to handle their transition game and guard their drivers."
First round opponent: Memphis, noon Thursday
9) Memphis, 12-15 (5-9)
Leading scorer: Victoria Crawford, 14.7 ppg
Last game: Memphis' record away from home fell to 2-12 with a 59-58 overtime loss at Saint Louis Friday.
Quote: "We didn't end the conference the way we wanted to end," Memphis head coach Blair Savage said.
First round opponent: East Carolina, noon Thursday
10) UAB, 7-20 (4-10)
Leading scorer: Carmen Guzman, 13.6 ppg
Last game: The Blazers surrendered 30 points off turnovers and lost their season finale to South Florida, 70-43.
Quote: "We have played in tough environments all year," UAB head coach Audra Smith said. "Our overall record doesn't indicate our improvement."
First round opponent: Marquette, 7:30 p.m. Thursday
11) Cincinnati, 9-18 (4-10)
Leading scorer: Anne Stephens, 12.1 ppg
Last game: The Bearcats have improved since they dropped their first six conference games. Friday their season culminated in a narrow 61-58 loss at Louisville, which finished second in C-USA.
Quote: "We're starting to put things together and it's better now than never," Cincinnati head coach Laurie Pirtle said.
First round opponent: Charlotte, 5 p.m. Thursday
12) Southern Miss, 9-18 (3-11)
Leading scorer: Shannon Stueber, 15.1 ppg
Last game: The Golden Eagles backed into the tournament with a 79-49 loss at Tulane.
Quote: "Probably the most rewarding experience is the progress this young team has made and how much better we've gotten over the long haul," Southern Miss head coach Joye Lee-McNelis said.
First round opponent: South Florida, 2:30 p.m. Thursday
This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Mar. 3 2005.