By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The No. 6 seed in the 2012 SCAA Tournament went to the Woodland Cardinals. The Cardinals have amassed a 4-9 record in their 2011-2012 campaign, and look to pull off an upset in their opening round matchup against the No. 3 Bernie Mules.

Woodland stands at 1-2 in SCAA contests, including a 72-35 loss at Bernie, a 78-55 loss against Dexter, and a close 79-75 win over the Bell City Cubs.

Head coach Robert Stein notes that his team has shown better consistency and effort in recent weeks.

“Recently, we are playing a lot more consistently as a team,” Stein said of the Cardinals.  “My players seem to have gained some confidence and are playing with a lot more poise.”

The Cardinals will have a tough task on their hands in their opening matchup against the Bernie Mules. Bernie’s leading scorer David Baker had 18 points when they last met, and Bernie’s press has been potent as of late. Matt Eaves could also cause problems for Woodland in the paint.

“On Baker and Eaves we are planning to try to play hard and make it as difficult as possible for them to score,” Stein said. “On the press, we will try to find an open teammate and make fundamental passes and cuts to get it across and into our offense.  Hopefully we will be able to shoot better than we did the last time we played them.”

The Cardinals’ JV squad picked up the No. 4 seed in their bracket, and will open the tournament against the host Dexter Bearcats, who took the No. 5 slot.

Woodland’s JV team will be on display in the first contest of the tournament at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. The Varsity squad will be in action in the 6:00 p.m. contest on Monday.