MELBOURNE, Fla. - [PDF Bracket | Championship Central] - Sunshine State Conference Women's Basketball Tournament semifinal match-ups will tip-off on Thursday, March 5th. All tournament semifinals and finals will be hosted by higher seeds and streamed live on the Sunshine State Conference Digital Network.
#1 Tampa vs. #4 Saint Leo - 7:00 PM [Watch Live | Live Stats]
How They Got There:
Tampa defeated #8 seed Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, 76-36, to advance. Melijah Sullivan led the Spartans with 19 points, while LaShayla Wright-Ponder had a game-high 10 rebounds (Box). Saint Leo defeated #4 seed Nova Southeastern University 76-55 for the right to travel to Tampa. Amanda Ulrich had a game-high 34 points in the victory (Box).
2019-20: UT swept the season series with a 72-66 overtime win in Saint Leo (Dec. 14) and a 73-58 victory in Tampa (Feb. 5)
Tournament History:
Tampa: 37-31 record - 5x champions - 5x runner up
Saint Leo: 8-28 record - 1x runner up
Tournament Series: 3-2 in favor of SLU
Last Meeting: #1 UT 80, #4 SLU 74 in the 2014 semifinals.
NOTES: UT last hoisted the trophy in 2016 as the #5 seed, then ending a six-year championship drought. Last season #2 Tampa was the victim of the fourth ever #7 vs. #2 upset in tournament history, this one coming at the hands of Rollins. Saint Leo grabs its first Top-4 seed since 2014 and is aiming for the program's first-ever tournament championship. The Lions reached the title game in 2013 as the #7 seed where they fell to Rollins.
Players to Watch:
Tampa: Dori Nagy (Sr., F, Pecs, Hungry) and Lashayla Wright-Ponder (Jr., F, Bloomington, Minn.) sit first (9.8) and third (8.7) in rebounds per game in the SSC as well as third (16.2) and sixth (14.6) in points/g. Nagy was recently named the SSC Player of the Year, while Wright-Ponder took Newcomer of the Year accolades.
Saint Leo: Amanda Ulrich (Fr., G, Secaucus, N.J.) is all over the SSC leaderboards: points/g (2nd - 16.7), Minutes/g (T3rd - 35.0), Steals/g (T8th - 1.5), and Assists/g (10th - 2.9). Alani Gallagher (Jr., F, Vestal, N.Y.) is one of three players in the league with over 13.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. She is fourth in conference rebounds (8.4/g) and 10th in scoring (13.6/g). Ulrich and Gallagher were named SSC Freshman and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively.
#2 Eckerd vs. #3 FSC - 7:00 PM [Watch Live | Live Stats]
How They Got There:
Eckerd survived an offensive onslaught from No. 7 Rollins College, finally taking home the 87-80 victory in double overtime. Mikayla Kuehne led all scorers with 29 points, followed closely by Abby Whiteye with 27 points (Box). Florida Southern took care of Florida Tech to the tune of 93-62 on Tuesday evening. Mackenzie Steele scored a game-high 23 points, while Ashley Shell brought in a game-high 13 rebounds to go with her 17 points (Box).
2019-20: Eckerd took both games from Florida Southern this season, starting with a 68-56 win in St. Petersburg (Jan. 15) and then a miraculous 84-75 double-overtime victory in Lakeland (Feb. 19).
Tournament History:
Eckerd: 15-28 record - 1x champion - 1x runner up
Florida Southern: 51-26 record - 12x champion - 8x runner up
Tournament Series: 7-2 in favor of FSC
Last Meeting: #1 FSC 61, #3 EC 60 in the 2019 final.
NOTES: Florida Southern is a two-time defending SSC champion heading into the 2020 event. Eckerd returned to the title match as the #3 in 2019 but were bested by #1 Florida Southern. The last Tritons win over the Moccasins in the tournament was during the 2015 quarterfinals.
Players to Watch:
Eckerd: The Tritons are a balanced scoring and rebounding team with no player in the Top-10 of either category. Octavia Loll (Sr., G, Akron, Ohio), who won back-to-back SSC Player of the Week awards to end the regular season, is 2nd in SSC assists/g (4.7), tied for third in minutes/g (35.0), and tied for eighth in steals/g (1.5). Recently, Loll was named First Team All-SSC.
FSC: Julia Jenike (Jr., G, Bethel, Ohio) sits fourth in SSC points/g (15.9) and is tied for second in 3PT% (.419) with 54 three-pointers to her name. Bekki Kalaydjiev (PG, So., Vienna, Austria) is fourth in assists/g (3.9) and second in steals/g (2.1). Recently, Jenike was named First Team All-SSC.
Tournament Information:
The 2020 Sunshine State Conference Women's Basketball Championship semifinals will be Thursday, March 5th, finals tip-off on Sunday, March 8th. Both men's and women's semifinals and finals are sponsored by Jimmy John's and will be hosted at campus sites.
Please contact SSC Assistant Commissioner
Robert Brennecke with any questions or media inquiries.