GOLDEN SUNS EARN NO. 2 SEED IN NCAA D-II SOUTH REGIONAL, FACES TUSKEGEE IN FRIDAY'S FIRST ROUND GAME

        RUSSELLVILLE, Arkansas – Arkansas Tech Women’s Basketball was rewarded for its 25-5 record and its second-place finish in the Gulf South Conference’s West Division this season as they received an at-large berth in this year’s NCAA Division II Basketball Tournament on Sunday evening.

Tech, who is ranked 13th in the latest USA Today/ESPN WBCA D-II Top 25 Coaches’ Poll, earned the No. 2 seed in the South Region and will face seventh-seeded Tuskegee in Friday’s first round at Walter Sillers Coliseum in Cleveland, Miss. The tournament will be hosted by Delta State, who is one of three remaining undefeated teams in Division II as the Lady Statesmen are 29-0 entering the NCAA Tournament after picking up its third consecutive GSC Tournament title with Sunday’s 80-61 win over the Golden Suns.

“We are looking forward to playing in this year’s NCAA Tournament,” Golden Suns Head Coach Dave Wilbers said following Sunday’s selection show. “We’ll be ready to play on Friday. We are one of 64 Division II teams still playing basketball and that is exciting.”

The tournament will begin with four quarterfinals games on Friday, March 14, with the regional semifinals scheduled for Saturday, March 15 and the championship game slated for Monday, March 17. The winner of the South Region advances to the Elite Eight on March 26-29 at the Health and Sports Center on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Kearney. As of Sunday night, game times for Friday’s first round game hadn’t been determined.

Joining Tech, Tuskegee and Delta State in the eight-team South Region field are No. 3 seeded Tampa (24-5), No. 4 seeded Nova Southeastern (24-6), No. 5 seeded West Georgia (24-4), No. 6 seeded Valdosta State (24-5) and No. 8 seeded Kentucky State (19-11).

Tuskegee, Tech’s first round opponent, is sporting a 21-9 overall record and was the regular season and tournament champion from the SIAC. The Tigerettes, who defeated Kentucky State 59-55 in Sunday’s SIAC Tournament Championship game, is making just its third NCAA D-II Tournament appearance and first since the 2004-05 season. Tuskegee, which was founded by Booker T. Washington in 1881, lost to Cal Poly Ponoma, 93-74, in the first-ever NCAA D-II National Championship game in 1981-82.

“Tuskegee will be a tough opponent and someone we don’t know a lot about and haven’t played,” Wilbers said. “They won their conference and their conference tournament and will be a tough first round foe.”

 Meanwhile, Tech is making its eighth appearance all-time and second consecutive in the NCAA Tournament. Last season, Tech earned a No. 3 seed from the South Region and advanced to the semifinals, where it lost 43-40 to Delta State. Tech opened the tournament with a 65-62 win over Rollins [FL] in the first round at Fort Meyers, Fla.    

Tech is 12-7 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including finishing as national runners-up in 1999. The Golden Suns are 6-1 in first round games, with its only loss coming to Rollins [FL], 67-54, in Cleveland, Miss., in 2000. 

Complete NCAA D-II Women's Basketball Tournament bracket

-- Tech Athletics --