Charlotte women get No. 3 seed

The Charlotte 49ers are one of four teams to receive a first-round bye in this weekend's Atlantic 10 Conference women's basketball tournament, which opens Friday at Halton Arena. Charlotte (20-8, 11-3) is the tournament's third seed. Top seed Xavier, No. 2 Temple and No. 4 Richmond also received byes.

The 49ers will open play at 8 p.m. Saturday in the quarterfinals against the winner of Friday's game between Duquesne and Massachusetts. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Charlotte enters the A-10 tournament after winning 11 of its 13 games. The 49ers defeated Duquesne, 83-78, in their regular season meeting on Feb. 7. Charlotte defeated UMass, 67-53, for the team's first league road win of the season on Jan. 14.

"The tournament will be a huge challenge, and the league is so strong that you can’t take anything for granted," said Charlotte coach Karen Aston. "We will take one step at a time, as we strive for the goal, which is a NCAA bid. It will be great basketball at Halton Arena, and I hope the Charlotte community will come out and support women’s basketball and the 49ers."