The Union University women’s basketball team won the Gulf South Conference Championship last weekend. As a result, the team automatically secured a bid in the NCAA DII South Region Women’s Tournament. This is the second straight year the women’s team has won the GSC Championship and the fourth time overall.
“We really just try to do our jobs each game, and when that happens, we are hard to beat,” said center Jaelencia Williams, a senior English major.
At the GSC Conference Championship, guard Shanique Lucas, a sophomore exercise science major, was named the 2021 GSC Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Williams was named GSC West Player of the Year. Both earned all-tournament honors and were named first-team All-GSC West performers. Head coach Mark Campbell also earned an award for GSC West Coach of the Year.
Lucas and Williams are excited to be able to participate in their first NCAA tournament, since it was cancelled last year due to COVID-19. Their team mindset this season is to go out and compete, to have fun, to stay together and to not let emotions dictate their actions or feelings.
“I’m just excited to get the opportunity to keep playing and to have more opportunities to compete and grow as a team,” said Lucas.
The Lady Bulldogs mentioned how their coaches and trainers have done a great job of communicating and supporting them during this season.
“It felt great to win the conference tournament. It always feels good to work really hard in the preseason, get better during practices throughout the year and for it to finally pay off,” said Williams. “I’m just proud of how far my team has come and how well we’ve handled adversity.”
The Lady Bulldogs will be playing against the University of Montevallo at the 2021 NCAA DII South Region Women’s Basketball Tournament Friday, March 12 at 4 p.m.
