Pairings Set for 2015 Women’s Basketball Conference Tournament
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Sun Conference has announced the seedings and pairings for the 2015 Sun Conference Women's Basketball Tournament, presented by Shula's Hotel and Golf Club. The tournament, which begins with quarterfinal action on Tuesday, Feb. 24, will feature the top eight conference teams based on each team’s finish in the league’s regular season standings.
For the third straight year, the St. Thomas Bobcats will be the top seed and have home-court advantage throughout the tournament. Albrey Grimsley’s squad was 17-1 in conference and is 24-4 overall. The 24
th-ranked Bobcats are led by eight-time conference Player of the Week Dannesha Pierce who is averaging 20.5 points, 9.4 rebounds and 4.8 steals per contest.
St. Thomas’ quarterfinal opponent will be No. 8 seed Warner who tied with Johnson & Wales for eighth at 5-13 in the conference. The Royals won both games against fourth-seeded Embry-Riddle to gain the edge in the tiebreaker and secure the last spot in the tournament field. Maria Fleurival is leading the Royals in four statistical categories, including points (11.4 ppg), rebounds (7.0 rpg), steals (2.2 spg) and blocks (1.3 bpg).
Southeastern improved on their third-place finish a year ago and are the No. 2 seed in the tournament. The Fire, whose resume includes handing St. Thomas its only conference loss of the year, finished at 16-2 in the regular season and are among the schools receiving votes in the NAIA rankings. Alyssa Ramos has paced the 25-5 Fire with 15.5 points and 2.4 assists per contest, while Carlie Newman’s 6.5 rebounds per game is a team best.
The Ave Maria Gyrenes are the looking for their second consecutive conference tournament title and will travel to Lakeland to take on Southeastern in the quarterfinals. AMU’s 6-12 conference record earned the Gyrenes the No. 7 seed in the tournament. They bring an even 15-15 overall record into tournament play and are led offensively by Madison Macdonald (14.8 ppg, 3.6 apg, 1.7 spg).
Third-seeded Webber International is looking to reclaim the tournament title they won in 2013. The Warriors (20-6, 13-5), who are the tournament’s No. 3 seed, will look to junior Deslynn Applewhaite to lead them in the postseason. Applewhaite is averaging 12.2 points, 5.6 boards and 2.4 assists per game.
The Warriors will host No. 6 Florida Memorial who compiled a 7-11 conference record and are 10-19 overall. Nicole Collins is expected to lead the Lions as she has all season, averaging 13.6 points per game.
The final quarterfinal matchup will feature league newcomer Embry-Riddle hosting No. 5 Thomas. The Eagles closed out their 2014-15 conference slate even at 9-9 and earned the No. 4 seed in the tournament.
Sabrina Whiting leads the Eagles in scoring, average 13.2 points per game and is also the team leader in steals (2.1 spg) and is tied for the team lead in assists (3.0).
Thomas (11-16) finished at 8-10 in league play to secure the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament. Head Coach Coretta Brown's team is led by Courtney Saunds who is averaging 18.6 points, 2.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game.
The four winners of the quarterfinal games will travel to the highest-remaining seed for the final four with the semifinals taking place on Friday, Feb. 27 and the championship game slated for Saturday, Feb. 28.
The tournament champion will receive an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship in Sioux City, Iowa (Mar. 11-17).