Saluki women look for tourney crown

The SIU women's basketball team looks to qualify for the NCAA tournament this week when going after the State Farm/Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball tourney title in Springfield, Mo. The tournament runs Thursday, March 9, through Sunday, March 12.

Taking it to the hoop -- SIU women's basketball junior forward and leading scorer Carlai Moore and the rest of the Salukis look to drive to the Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball tournament title this weekend at Missouri State University.

Sophomore guard Erin Pauk was named to the league's Scholar-Athlete team on Tuesday.

The eighth-seed Salukis, 10-17 overall and 6-12 in the conference, battle No. 9 seed Creighton in a first-round game at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 9, in the Hammons Student Center. The winner takes on top-seed and MVC regular-season champion Indiana State in a 12:05 p.m. quarterfinal game on Friday, March 10.

The semifinals and finals will be shown on FSN Midwest. The championship game is 3:05 p.m., Sunday, March 12.

Session tickets are $14/$12 and $9.50 apiece. Tournament tickets can by purchased by contacting the Missouri State ticket office at 417/836-7678, or by visiting the Hammons Student Center online.