SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- The University of New England will host No. 8 Nichols College in Tuesday's quarterfinal round of the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Women's Basketball Championship, as CCC Commissioner Gregg Kaye released the tournament pairings late Saturday night.

Big Blue wrapped up the regular season of league play with a 16-2 record, securing the No. 1 seed in the postseason event for the second time in three seasons. The Nor'easters will begin their quest towards a second conference title in that stretch on Tuesday against the Bison (5-13 CCC). UNE captured both meetings between the teams this season, winning by upwards of 30 points each time.

2012 CCC Women's Basketball Championship

Quarterfinal Round | Biddeford, Maine

Tuesday, February 21 | 7:00 p.m.

#1 UNE (21-4) vs. #8 Nichols (6-19)

Last Meeting: February 11, 2012 (UNE won at home, 74-39)

All-time Series: UNE leads 10-5

In other quarterfinal games, defending champion Salve Regina University -- which finished three games back (13-5) of UNE -- enters the tournament as the second seed and is set to host No. 7 Curry College (7-11). Sixth-seeded Eastern Nazarene College (10-8) visits No. 3 Western New England University (12-6), while Endicott College (12-6) and Roger Williams University (11-7) will meet in the No. 4/No. 5 matchup.

The UNE/NC winner will then face the winner from the EC/RWU contest in one semifinal on Thursday (Feb. 23), and the final is scheduled for Saturday (Feb. 25).

For the complete release of the championship pairings, click HERE.
To view the championship bracket, click HERE.