On Sunday, the Union University women’s basketball team defeated West Florida to clinch its second conference tournament title since joining the Gulf South Conference four years ago.
Coming in with an incredible 26-3 record, the Lady Bulldogs were ready to take on the Lee Lady Flames in the GSC semifinals in Birmingham, Alabama on Saturday.
The Lady Bulldogs were knocked out in quarterfinals by long-time rivals the Lady Flames just last year, making this a grudge match. These two teams are very familiar with each other, and our Lady Bulldogs knew exactly what to expect.
Overall, Lee is a very good defensive team and that showed in the first quarter, but Union came back with strong defense and rebounding to keep them in the game in the second quarter. The Lady Bulldogs ended the first half of the game with a 12-point lead.
Chelsey Shumpert, averaging 24.5 points a game, was named the conference player of the year and we can certainly see why. She’s a great ball handler, great three-point shooter and on top of that she’s an incredibly fun player to watch. Shumpert earned 11 points in the first half and 20 points in the second, really giving it her all.
A two-tie game, the Lady Bulldogs never let Lee get in the lead. The Lady Bulldogs’ excellent team defense throughout the game led them to the victory
“I really know how my kids feel towards each other,” Head coach Mark Campbell said. “And that really showed in their play today.”
Union won the game with a final score of 66-56, sending them to the Gulf South Conference (GSC) Championship.
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The Lady Bulldogs made their way back to the gym on Sunday to compete for the GSC conference title against the University of West Florida Argos.
Picking up right where they left off Saturday, Union did a great job early on with defense. Holding it together from the beginning, they ended the first quarter with a 13-point lead.
Shumpert put out an exceptional effort in Sunday’s game as well, but she left the game near the end of the second quarter with a knee injury. Shumpert didn’t play for the rest of the game, but the rest of the team pulled through in her absence.
“Chelsey is the one who knocks down shots when we need them the most,” her teammate, Sara Lytle, said. “We had to find different ways to score and different people had to step up. But other than the fact that Chelsey got hurt, it was a good challenge and will end up paying off down the road.”
Campbell hasn’t given any information regarding how long he thinks Shumpert will be out for.
Both teams were fairly sloppy with their shooting this game, and the Argos made up most of their points in free throws. A three-point play by the Argos at the beginning of the 4th quarter brought the score within a mere three points. Giving it their all, though, Union was able to stretch their lead back out to 11 points with five minutes left in the game.
With a final score of 66-54, the Union Lady Bulldogs won the championship game and the GSC title.
With the win, Union will be the #1 seed and host the South Region Tournament for the third time in four years. Union’s first game of the tournament will be at 5 p.m. on Friday against Clark Atlanta University and the winner of the South Region will play in the Elite Eight and have a chance to compete for an NCAA Division II National Championship in South Dakota. Other information for the South Regional Tournament can be found here.
