ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd women's basketball team will attempt to add another first in a long season full of them on Friday afternoon as the Tritons take on Lee (Tenn.) University in the opening round of the NCAA South Region Tournament.
HOW THEY GOT HERE: The Tritons (26-4) have put together a storybook season, setting numerous program records throughout the year. Eckerd laid claim to its first conference titles, winning the Sunshine State's regular season crown before taking home the tournament hardware on Sunday.
Lee's path was a bit more unsure, but the Flames (20-10) made it into the NCAA postseason for the first time garnering the No. 8 seed in the region. Lee, a former NAIA powerhouse which finished as national runner-up in 2013, suffered three narrow losses in its last four games to other teams who will play in St. Petersburg this weekend. The Flames were edged by GSC tournament champion Valdosta State twice, once in overtime in the regular-season finale and again by three points in the tournament semifinals.
CONFERENCE CROSSOVER: Lee took on two SSC opponents to open the season at the SSC-GSC Crossover. The Flames handled Saint Leo in dominant fashion, 93-65, but fell to Florida Southern, 61-45.
Eckerd also went 1-1 against GSC opponents, dropping its season-opener to West Florida, 66-62, before scoring a double-digit win over Valdosta State, 72-56.
ABOUT THE FLAMES: Lee is a strong rebounding team, ranking 24th in the nation in rebounding margin ( 6.9). Defense has also been a strong suit as Lee holds opponents to 35.3 percent shooting, 16th in NCAA Division II. Erin Walsh leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.0 points per game, and is a dangerous perimeter shooter knocking down 76 3-pointers for the season. Carrie Cheeks is a force inside averaging 12.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game while freshman Abby Bertram averages 12.0 points and 4.1 assists per game.
