DANBURY, Conn. -- The ECAC announced Monday afternoon that Washington & Jefferson has earned the top seed and potential hosting rights throughout the upcoming ECAC Division III South Women's Basketball Championship.

W&J will host eighth-seeded Penn State Behrend on Wednesday, Mar. 2 at 7 p.m. As the No. 1 seed, should the Presidents defeat the Lions, W&J would host the tournament's semifinals and finals on Sat.-Sun., Mar. 5-6 at the Henry Memorial Center, where the Red & Black are 11-1 this year.

After finishing the regular season second in the Presidents' Athletic Conference at 16-2 and losing in the league title game to defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Thomas More, W&J was kept out of the NCAA Division III Championship despite its 22-5 record. That opened the door for an ECAC berth which gives W&J a postseason appearance for the 13th time in program history, as the Presidents will be making their sixth appearance in an ECAC Tournament.

Under the direction of 12th-year head coach Jina DeRubbo, W&J is looking to move up the single-season wins list for the program. Currently, the Presidents' 22 wins are tied for fifth, however, one win will move the team into a tie for second (23), while two wins would tie for first (24) and a tournament championship would establish a new single-season wins record.

The Presidents are led by senior Beka Bellhy, who is averaging 18.7 points per game and 8.1 rebounds on the season. She has completed double-doubles in three of W&J's last four games and is averaging 28.0 points per game in the last three after setting a new career high in sequential games with 34 at Bethany to close out the regular season and 36 against Waynesburg in the PAC semifinals. The 5-9 forward enters the postseason with 1,528 points, the fourth most in program history and just eight shy of third place. Additionally, her 505 points this season mark only the third time a President has topped 500 points in a single season.

Sophomore Amirah Moore ranks second on the team, averaging 10.4 points per game, 4.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists. Junior Taylor Cotazzo and sophomore Rachel Bellhy are closing in on a double-digit average at 9.8 and 9.6 points, respectively. Rachel Bellhy is tied with Danielle Parker for second on the team at 5.8 rebounds per contest.

Penn State Behrend has a familiar face at the helm as former Grove City standout and assistant coach Christine Slater is in her second year with the Lions. They finished the season in second place in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference with a league record of 13-5 and overall mark of 15-11. The top two scorers on the team are both sophomores as Dani Reinwald leads the team at 12.9 points and 11.7 rebounds per game and Erika Woll scores 10.7 per night and dishes out 2.7 assists. Freshman Ali Goetz contributes 9.4 points and 4.5 rebounds a night.

The two teams haven't met on the hardwood since the 2012-13 season, when W&J downed Penn State Behrend, 63-62, in the Behrend Tip-Off Tournament championship game. In 32 all-time meetings, W&J holds a 17-15 advantage.

2016 ECAC Division III South Women's Basketball Championship matchups
All games Weds. March 2 at 7:00 p.m. -- Highest remaining seed hosts Semifinals and Finals Mar. 5-6
#8 Penn State Behrend (15-11) at #1 Washington & Jefferson (22-5)
#5 Delaware Valley (13-13) at #4 Marywood (18-8)
?#6 Neumann (17-11) at #3 Stevenson (14-10)
#7 Waynesburg (14-13) at #2 McDaniel (21-6)