August 22nd, 2018Vancouver Basketball Showcase

For Immediate Release: August 16, 2018

LOADED VANCOUVER SHOWCASE WOMEN’S FIELD TIPS
WITH 2018 NATIONAL CHAMPION NOTRE DAME BATTLING GONZAGA
Strong tournament includes 2017 champ South Carolina, Oregon State and Rutgers

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Defending NCAA Champion Notre Dame will tip-off the inaugural Vancouver Showcase women’s tournament against two-time defending West Coast Conference champion Gonzaga on Thursday, Nov. 22 at noon PT at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The loaded field also includes 2017 National Champion South Carolina and Pac-12 power Oregon State. Tournament organizer, bd Global, announced the pairings for the women’s tournament as well as game times for the Men’s Whistler Bracket.

“The Vancouver Showcase women’s tournament is as strong of a draw as anything in women’s NCAA basketball, including the Final Four, ” said local tournament organizer Howard Kelsey. “The tournament will showcase Vancouver and its traditionally excellent support for Women In Sports initiatives.”

In addition to boasting the last two national champions, the tournament features six teams that competed in this past season’s NCAA Tournament and three coaches that are a part of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (Notre Dame’s Muffett McGraw, Rutgers Vivian Stringer and South Carolina’s Dawn Staley, inducted as a player).
The pairings for the women’s tournament are as follows (all times are Pacific):

Notre Dame vs. Gonzaga – Noon
Drake vs. Rutgers – 2:30 p.m.
South Carolina vs. ETSU – 6 p.m.
Oregon State vs. Western Kentucky – 8:30 p.m.

Game times will be the same on Friday with the semifinals being played at 6 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday’s evening session featuring the championship/third place games will tip at 5 p.m.

“This is an incredible field in which to christen college basketball to Vancouver, and without question, the best early season tournament in the sport,” said ESPN analyst and women’s tournament director Debbie Antonelli. “It features three teams that finished in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight with Notre Dame, South Carolina and Oregon State, and three other teams that won their respective conference tournaments – Western Kentucky, Drake and Gonzaga. It will strongly resemble an NCAA Tournament regional weekend in Vancouver.”

Men’s Whistler Bracket
Action in the Men’s Whistler Bracket commences on Sunday, Nov. 18 with Washington vs. Santa Clara at 5 p.m. PT followed by Texas A&M vs. Minnesota on 7:30 p.m. PT. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN Networks. On Tuesday, Nov. 20, the third-place game will be played at 6 p.m. PT followed by the championship game at 8:30 p.m. which will be broadcast on ESPN2.

“We are excited to welcome all of these teams to Vancouver and showcase the vibrancy of the ocean and mountain-wrapped city and the beauty of British Columbia,” said local tournament organizer David Munro. “But it really gets exciting to know that these games will be broadcast to millions of homes in the United States and worldwide through ESPN networks. It truly will be a video postcard of Vancouver for those watching at home.”

Tournament Tickets
Tickets for the men’s Whistler Bracket and women’s tournament are on-sale now at TicketsTonight.ca.

Men’s Tournament Whistler Bracket
- Session 2 on Sunday, Nov. 18 (evening games) – Washington vs. Santa Clara and Minnesota vs. Texas A&M
- Session 4 on Tuesday, Nov. 20 (evening games) – Third-Place and Championship games
- Ticket prices range from $37.50 CAD to $213 CAD for courtside seats
- All-session men’s tournament packages (Whistler and Harbour brackets) range from $110-$616 CAD
Men’s Tournament Harbour Bracket
Pairings to be announced at a later date with tickets to go on-sale at that time
Two sessions each day with tickets good for both games of a given session
Women’s semifinals will be played on Friday, Nov. 23 (Session 4)
Women’s third-place and championship will be played on Saturday, Nov. 24 (Session 6)
Ticket prices range from $32 CAD to $162 CAD for courtside seats with all-session packages ranging from $110-$616 CAD
Women’s Tournament

Tickets can be purchased at TicketsTonight.ca or order by phone at 877.840.0457 (additional $5 per order).

Hotels
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WOMEN"S BRACKET
MEN'S BRACKET

Full tournament and hotel info can be found at VanShowcase.com and on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @VanShowcase.

Media Contacts:

Jon Albaugh
bd Global
859.492.6794
jda@bdglobalsports.com

Jinny Wu
Vancouver Convention Centre
604.647.7353
jwu@vancouverconventioncentre.com

Amber Sessions
Tourism Vancouver
604.631.2870
asessions@tourismvancouver.com