CENTERVILLE, Mass. -- The University of New England women's basketball has been selected to participate in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Championship and will travel to play Keene State College on Wednesday (March 4) at 7:00 p.m.  The pairings were released by the ECAC this afternoon.

The Nor'easters earned the tournament's fifth seed with a record of 20-7.  The No. 4 Owls finished the season with an identical 20-7 mark.  The two teams met back in November in the championship game of the Keene State College Tip-Off Tournament, with the hosts pulling away late for an 83-69 victory.

Each of the other first round match-ups will feature a The Commonwealth Coast Conference team.  Nichols College (23-4) was selected as the tournament's top seed and will host No. 8 Plymouth State University (16-10).  Third-seeded Endicott College (23-5) is set to take on No. 6 Emerson College (20-8), and No. 7 Colby-Sawyer College (16-9) will visit No. 2 Worcester Polytechnic Institute (21-6).

The semifinals are scheduled for Saturday (March 7) and the title game is scheduled for Sunday (March 8).

UNE will be making its second appearance in the ECAC Championship in program history.  In 2003, the Nor'easters fell to Plymouth State University in the first round of the tournament, 71-69.

For the complete bracket of the 2009 ECAC Division III New England Women's Basketball Championship, click here.