ERIE, Pa. -- The Mercyhurst women's basketball team is set to host its first ever NEC Tournament game Monday, March 9 at the Mercyhurst Athletics Center. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. Secure your ticket at hurstathletics.com/tickets. 

Mercyhurst secured the two seed in the tournament following a 14-4 performance in NEC play. The Lakers are one of the top offense in the league, averaging a league-best 71.7 points per game in NEC games. The Lakers are set to take on seventh seeded Stonehill Monday. The Lakers swept the Skyhawks in the regular season. 

This year's NEC Basketball Tournament features an eight-team field, with each game hosted by the higher-seeded team.

The NEC Tournament commences on Monday, March 9 with quarterfinal action. All games will air on NEC Front Row. Winners will be reseeded and move on to the semifinals on Thursday, March 12. Both NEC semifinal games will air live on ESPN+. NESN Nation will broadcast one semi live and the other on delay. The championship game, to be televised by ESPNU, will be contested on Sunday, March 15 at 12:00 pm.

If a reclassifying institution wins the NEC Tournament championship, the tournament runner-up will advance to the NCAA Tournament as the NEC's automatic qualifier as per current policy. In instances where two reclassifying members reach an NEC final, the NEC will stage an "AQ Qualifier" game between the two non-advancing semifinal teams. This will serve as a decisive game to determine the team that will secure the NEC's spot in the NCAA Tournament. 

In its first year of postseason eligibility, Mercyhurst (14-15, 14-4 NEC) made a splash during its sophomore NEC campaign. The Lakers secured the two seed with a wire-to-wire win over Le Moyne tonight. Under first-year head coach Erin Mills-Reid, Mercyhurst aims to become the fifth program and third team in three years to win its first-ever NEC Tournament contest. The Lakers will take on Stonehill in its conference postseason debut.