BOWLING GREEN — Bowling Green State University's soon-to-be-opened Stroh Center has landed a jewel of an event: first and second-round games in the 2012 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.

The Stroh Center, which will open next year, will host 2012 tournament games on either Saturday, March 17 and Monday, March 19, or Sunday, March 18 and Tuesday, March 20.

Exact dates for the tournament games at the 4,700-seat facility, as well as ticket information, will be released at a later time.

“We are excited to be selected as a site for the 2012 NCAA Tournament,” BG director of athletics Greg Christopher said in a release. “To host the first and second-round games in Bowling Green is a testament to our staff and the work they put into the process and, obviously, the incredible fan support our community displays for women's basketball.”

These will not be the first NCAA women's basketball tournament games ever played in Bowling Green; the Falcon women hosted first-round games in 1989, 1993, and 1994.

First Published October 27, 2010, 3:31 a.m.