VALDOSTA, Ga. (vstateblazers.com) — The No. 17 Valdosta State women's basketball team earned an at-large berth into the NCAA South Regional, as announced Sunday evening on the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Selection Show. The Lady Blazers, the No. 7-seed, will play No. 2-seed Tampa at Union University beginning Friday, March 11. The time of the game will be announced soon.
The Lady Blazers are 23-5 overall and went 17-2 in Gulf South Conference play this season finishing second in the regular season league standings. VSU downed West Alabama in the quarterfinal of the conference tournament on Tuesday, 72-41, and lost to Lee on Saturday in the semifinals, 74-61.
Union, who won the Gulf South Conference regular season and tournament titles, earned hosting duties as Tampa, out of the Sunshine State Conference, earned the No. 2-seed. Tampa won the SSC Title Sunday with a victory over No. 4-seed Florida Southern.
Lee, who finished runner-up in the Gulf South Conference Championship, earned the No. 3-seed, while No. 6-seed Benedict won the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship and No. 8-seed Savannah State rounds out the field.
VSU makes its 14th appearance in the NCAA postseason as it went 1-1 last year, defeating Lee and falling in heartbreaking fashion to eventual NCAA South Region champion Lander. VSU is 14-13 all-time in the NCAA postseason with a third-place finish in 1984.
The winner of the regional will advance to the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Elite Eight, scheduled for Mar. 21-25, at the Birmingham Crossplex in Birmingham, Ala.
Check back with vstateblazers.com this week for a preview of the South Region Championship.
