TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The Indiana State women's basketball team has been seeded eighth for the 2010 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, the league office announced Saturday. The Sycamores will face No. 9 Southern Illinois in the first play-in game on Thursday, March 11 at 6 p.m. (ET) at Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo.

ISU finished 16-11 (7-11 MVC) in regular-season games, highlighted by a recent five-game winning streak from Feb. 14 to Feb. 28. The Sycamores swept the Southern Illinois series this season - 63-51 at Hulman Center and 70-62 in Carbondale, Ill.

The winner of Thursday night's game advances to Friday's Noon contest against No. 1 Illinois State.

The 2010 tournament marks the third neutral-site event in conference history and features nine games over four days. The championship game is set for Sunday, March 14 and will be broadcast to a national television audience on Fox Sports Midwest at 3:30 p.m. (ET). Both semifinals will also air on the MVC Television Network at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, March 13.

2010 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball Tournament
Thursday, March 11 -- Session I
Game 1 -- #8 Indiana State (16-13, 7-11) vs. #9 Southern Illinois (5-23, 4-14), 5 p.m. [MVC Live]
Game 2 -- #7 Drake (14-14, 7-11) vs. #10 Evansville (4-25, 1-17), 8:30 p.m. [MVC Live]

Friday, March 12 -- Session II
Game 3 -- #1 Illinois State (23-6, 16-2) vs. Winner Game 1, noon [MVC Live]
Game 4 -- #4 Bradley (16-12, 12-6) vs. #5 UNI (14-15, 10-8), 2:30 p.m. [MVC Live]

Friday, March 12 -- Session III
Game 5 -- #2 Creighton (18-9, 13-5) vs. Winner of Game 2, 6 p.m. [MVC Live]
Game 6 -- #3 Missouri State (20-9, 12-6) vs. #6 Wichita State (16-13, 8-10), 8:30 p.m. [MVC Live]

Saturday, March 13 -- Session IV
Game 7 -- Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 5 p.m. [MVC TV Network]
Game 8 -- Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 7:30 p.m.  [MVC TV Network]

Sunday, March 14 -- Session V
Championship -- Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 2:30 p.m. [MVC TV Network]