Mary Washington and Marymount, the top two teams in the NCAA Atlantic Region Rankings released today, are also the top two teams in the CAC women's basketball standings and will join St. Mary's and York as the host teams for the quarterfinal round of the 2008 CAC playoffs, which begin Feb. 26.

Mary Washington (22-2, 14-1) clinched the regular-season crown Wednesday with a 74-46 decision at Wesley (12-12, 8-7).  In that game, senior All-American Liz Hickey recorded 23 points, 10 rebounds and blocked five shots, breaking the all-time NCAA Division III record for career blocks (now with 487). 

The Eagles, the No. 1-ranked team in the region, will host Hood (5-18, 3-12) in the opening round.  Hood topped Villa Julie (7-17, 4-11) Wednesday by a 39-34 margin and is just one game behind seventh-place VJ, but the Mustangs hold the tiebreaker over Hood if the teams would finish the regular season tied. 

Marymount (21-3, 13-2), ranked second in the region this week, defeated Salisbury (10-14, 7-8) Wednesday by a 69-64 margin.  The Saints had already clinched second place in the regular season and will host Villa Julie Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the opening round of the playoffs.

St. Mary's (17-7, 10-5), which had a bye Wednesday, will host fifth-place Salisbury in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs.  SMC is one game ahead of York heading into Saturday's season-ending games, but a Seahawks win over Mary Washington last week gives them the tiebreaker over the Spartans.

York (17-7, 9-6) has clinched fourth place and will host Wesley (12-12, 8-7) in the first round.  Although Wesley can tie York for fourth place in the standings, the Spartans swept the season series against the Wolves to earn the home court advantage in the playoffs.

The games at Mary Washington and York will be the first game of a playoff doubleheader, beginning at 6 p.m., because the UMW and YCP men's teams have also clinched home games in the first round of the playoffs.  Starting times for the games at Marymount and St. Mary's are still to be determined.

2008 CAC Women's Basketball Playoff Schedule

Tuesday, Feb. 26 - Quarterfinal Round
Game 1: #8 Hood at #1 Mary Washington, 6 p.m.
Game 2: #5 Wesley at #4 York, 6 p.m.
Game 3: #6 Salisbury at #3 St. Mary's, TBA
Game 4: #7 Villa Julie at #2 Marymount, 7 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 28 -- Semifinal Round
Game 5: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2, TBA
Game 6: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, TBA

Saturday, Mar. 1 -- Championship
Game 7: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6, TBA