With the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament approaching, Tuskegee is preparing for a tough battle against tournament host Tampa.
Coach Trelanne Powell’s team won the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season title and the tournament championship as well, but were awarded the No. 8 seed and will take on No. 1 seed Tampa Friday at 4 p.m. at The Bob Martinez Athletics Center in Tampa, Fla.
The Golden Tigers enter the tournament 26-3 overall and have won 17 straight games. Tuskegee hasn’t lost since an 84-77 loss at Clayton State on Dec. 19.
Meanwhile, the Spartans are 30-1 overall, have won 19 in a row, and are 18-1 at home. Tampa hasn’t lost since a 79-76 setback to Palm Beach Atlantic at home on Dec. 29.
This will be Tampa’s 15th NCAA Tournament appearance and the Spartans are 7-13 overall. One of those wins was a 70-63 victory over SIAC member Clark Atlanta in the 2009 South Regional at Delta State in Cleveland, Miss.
The Spartans are led by Tom Jessee, who was named Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year after leading Tampa to its third straight conference title.
Sydney Kim was named SSC Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, while Melijah Sullivan was named first-team All-SSC and Audrey Ramsey earned second-team All-SSC honors.
Kim is averaging 19.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. Sullivan is averaging 14.5 points and 4.3 rebounds, while Ramsey is averaging 9.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game.
Mya Giusto, 10.6 points and 4.5 assists, and Sarah Jones, 9.3 points, have also been big contributors.
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