On Monday night, March 17th, a nail-biting battle ensued between the Union University Lady Bulldogs and the Nova Southeastern University Sharks on the basketball court in the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA DII tournament. The Lady Bulldogs, ranked 1st in the region, duked it out with the regionally 3rd ranked NSU Sharks in a roller coaster ride culminating in a “couldn’t look away” fourth quarter.
Union University hosted the 2025 Women’s NCAA DII Regional tournament in Jackson, Tennessee, with all games being played in the packed, loud and frenetic Fred Delay Gymnasium.
The Lady Bulldogs had come off of a big win against conference rival Lee University before facing off with the Lady Sharks. The game was hard fought, with the Lady Bulldogs in the lead throughout almost the entirety of the first half. The Lady Bulldogs led 36-25 at halftime, with graduate transfer Alexis Callins leading the charge scoring 18 points in the first half. But as the second half began, the Lady Sharks rallied back and tied the game a few minutes into the fourth quarter at 58 a piece. The Lady Bulldogs pulled ahead off of an and-one layup from point guard and senior communications major, Jazzy Anousinh, that put the Lady Bulldogs up 61-58. With time dwindling, Callins took a critical charge to change possession, and due to NSU being in the double bonus, senior business major,Emily Jones, shot and made two free throws. After a quick coast-to-coast layup from NSU and a foul on the following Union inbound pass, Jones shot and made two more free throws to put the Lady Bulldogs ahead 65-60, which both sealed the game and was the final score. With the victory, the Lady Bulldogs were crowned the 2025 Regional Champions.
Union’s success this year has come from the incredible chemistry that the Lady Bulldogs have developed. A big part of their program is doing the little things right and focusing on the details and not getting wrapped up in the frustration of losing or the pride of winning. A cornerstone of this culture that 26th-year women’s head basketball coach, Mark Campbell, has built is accountability. And part of this accountability is narrowing down the scope of what players are worried about when it comes to the sport.
“I think the idea would be what do you define losing as? I actually think that losing is a response to anything. You can win and be prideful, but in that, you’ve lost,” Campbell said. “So, I don’t think it has to do with losing or winning the game. I think it’s a heart posture towards what you do and how you do it.”
Campbell doesn’t want his players to think of the sport as only winning and losing, but rather how to react to the wins and the losses and making sure that their hearts are postured in a way that reflects Christ.
“My job is to have intuition for our group, and intuition means we pay attention to details that could hurt us. We draw those out, whether we win or lose. I mean, we’ve had some bad days after wins because they’re looking at the result, and I’m looking at ‘the how’ and I’m trying to keep them accountable because discipline is really important,” Campbell said. “Being disciplined does not happen without accountability.”
The Lady Bulldogs play a fast, physical style of basketball with a constant full-court press and stifling first-shot defense, which takes discipline and understanding details. Campbell does full-line subs and says that his players need to “earn their sub” by giving their all every time they are on the court.
Anousinh has become one of the vocal leaders on the team, which is a role she’s grown more confident in her second season as a Lady Bulldog. She also noted that there are different types of leaders on the team and that she’s thankful to be in that role and thankful for the other types of leaders on the team. She understands and values accountability, and understands the necessity of it to be successful.
“I just think throughout the year we’ve built these relationships that are built on trust and love and loyalty and respect. So everyone knows that when we are holding each other accountable or when I need to hold someone accountable, it’s not coming from a place of, ‘Oh, Jazzy doesn’t like me and she’s mean,’ but rather, ‘She believes in me.’ That is kind of like an unspoken thing,” Anousinh said. “We all are very confident in each other, so we just want to hold each other to the highest standard possible if we want to make it far. And that’s what’s really gotten us this far, is being able to hold each other accountable and be there for one another, and everything comes from the right place.”
Campbell, Anousinh and the Lady Bulldogs will travel to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania next week to compete in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA DII tournament.
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