Saturday, February 24th, 2007

Women's Basketball Team Earns Berth In 2007 NCAA Division-III Tournament

Photo Gallery from GSAC Championship Game

The Piedmont College women's basketball team earned its first-ever NCAA Division-III Tournament invitation in dramatic fashion this afternoon as the Lady Lions downed rival Maryville College 60-59 in the Great South Athletic Conference Tournament Championship in LaGrange, GA. Nikki Sosebee hit one of two free throws with one second remaining to stamp the Lady Lions' first-ever NCAA post-season appearance.

In a see-saw game that featured 18 lead changes and 11 ties, second-seeded Maryville led by a game-high six points with nine minutes remaining in the second half.

After the Scots went up by two points junior Sheena Trimiar recorded the game-tying shot on a tip-in with 20 seconds remaining in the game. Maryville took the game's final shot from the field with less than two seconds remaining. Sosebee was fouled after the defensive rebound and proceeded to hit the first of two free-throws, sealing the one-point victory and the conference championship.

Beth Adcock led three Lady Lions in double-figures with 16 points and a team-high four assists and for her efforts was voted the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Lisa Jennings and Yetta Bailey notched 10 points apiece while Sosebee recorded six points and a game-high nine rebounds.

The NCAA post-season appearance is the first-ever for the PC women's basketball team as this year marked the first-ever automatic berth granted to the conference tournament champion. The NCAA selection is the fourth since Piedmont became full-fledged NCAA members four seasons ago as the men's soccer (2003), men's tennis (2004), and softball (2006) teams have each earned post-season participation.

The victory moves Piedmont to 18-7 overall. The Lady Lions will await their postseason fate as the tournament field will be released on Sunday night with the pairings including locations and times released early Monday morning. The NCAA Tournament first round games will take place either on Wednesday, February 28th or Saturday, March 3rd.