FLORIDA SOUTHERN COLLEGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM ADVANCES TO NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

LAKELAND, Fla., March 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Florida Southern College women's basketball team is headed back to the NCAA DII South Regional Tournament. The Moccasins are the No. 4 seed and will face the No. 5 seed Eckerd on at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 11 in Jackson, Tenn.

The NCAA announced the 64-team field for the Division II women's basketball national tournament, and the Florida Southern Moccasins were selected to compete. The Mocs moved up to the No. 4 seed in the South Region after FSC went on a 12-game win streak that saw it come to an end at the Sunshine State Conference Championship against Tampa.

FSC is set to face No. 5 seed Eckerd for the fourth time this year and third time in less than three weeks. The Mocs have defeated the Tritons in all three matchups so far this year, most recently during the semifinals of the SSC tournament, with a 58-46 decision in the George W. Jenkins Fieldhouse in Lakeland, Fla.

2022 NCAA DIVISION II SOUTH REGIONAL
Location: Jackson, Tenn.
Arena: Fred DeLay Gymnasium
Tournament Information: https://bit.ly/3HPFxHg

Florida Southern was one of three Sunshine State Conference schools to advance to the regional tournament along with No. 2 Tampa and No. 5 Eckerd. The remaining qualifiers are No. 1 Union, No. 3 Lee, No. 6 Benedict, No. 7 Valdosta State, and No. 8 Savannah State.

On Friday, March 11, four games will tip-off throughout the day.
Game 1: 12:00 p.m. - No. 3 Lee (24-7) vs. No. 6 Benedict (23-7)
Game 2: 2:30 p.m. - No. 2 Tampa (29-5) vs. No. 7 Valdosta State (23-5)
Game 3: 5:00 p.m. - No. 1 Union (26-2) vs. No. 8 Savannah State (27-2)
Game 4: 7:30 p.m. - No. 4 Florida Southern (20-9) vs. No. 5 Eckerd (20-4)

For Florida Southern, this is the program's 15th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and sixth in seven years.

The winners of the eight regionals will advance to the Elite Eight, which begins on March 21 at The Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala.

4th Seed – Florida Southern College Moccasins

Florida Southern finished the regular season with an overall record of 18-8 and a conference record of 16-4. They finished the regular season with a 10-game win streak and had not lost a game since Jan. 19, when they fell to nationally ranked Tampa.

After wins in the first two rounds of the SSC Tournament, the Moccasins saw their 12-game win streak come to an end when they fell to Tampa during the Sunshine State Conference Championship game, in a 74-67 overtime thriller.

In the last match-up between Florida Southern and Eckerd, FSC hosted and defeated the Tritons in the semifinals of the SSC Championship and cruised to a 58-46 win. Graduate student Julia Jenike pulled in a game- and career-high 14 rebounds, while freshman Arielle Dabu led the team offensively with 14 points, followed by two Moccasins scoring in double figures in SSC Newcomer of the Year Whitney Jacob with 13 points and junior Mackenzie Steele with 10 of her own.

The Mocs averaged 67.4 points a game and allowed just 59.9 on average. They boast a 1.1 assist to turnover ratio while their opponents average 18.0 turnovers a game. Jacob and Jenike lead the team in scoring with 16.5 and 15.0 points per game, respectively. Steele has also made major offensive contributions, averaging 9.2 points per game. Sunshine State Conference Freshman of the Year Sara Wohlgemuth leads the team in assists with 101 on the season.

5th Seed - Eckerd College Tritons

The Tritons last win was against Nova Southeastern, to advance in the SSC championship into the semifinal round with an 81-66 win in St. Petersburg.

Eckerd averaged 66.0 points per game and boasted 36.5 rebounds per game. The Tritons leading scorer is SSC Player of the Year Maya Price, who supports a 14.8 average in scoring while posting 7.1 boards per game. Sofia Persson, who was also named to the All-Newcomer team with FSC's Jacob, holds a 14.0 scoring average.

About Florida Southern College

Founded in 1883, Florida Southern College is the oldest private college in the state. It maintains its commitment to academic excellence through 70+ undergraduate programs and distinctive graduate programs in business administration, education, nursing, and physical therapy. Florida Southern has a 14:1 student-to-faculty ratio; is an award-winning national leader in engaged learning; and boasts 30 NCAA Division II national championships. It is ranked among the top 10 Regional Universities in the South by U.S. News & World Report in its 2021 "Best Colleges" guide, and is included in The Princeton Review's 2021 "386 Best Colleges" guide, the "Fiske Guide to Colleges 2021," and Forbes magazine's "America's Top Colleges." Home to the world's largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture, FSC was twice named "Most Beautiful Campus in the Nation" by The Princeton Review, and one of the nation's "Ten College Campuses with the Best Architecture" by Architectural Digest. Connect with Florida Southern College.

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SOURCE Florida Southern College