Women's basketball team hosts Peach Belt tourney
Article By: Clark Leonard
The University of North Georgia (UNG) women's basketball team will host the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) tournament this week at the Convocation Center on UNG's Dahlonega Campus.
As the tournament's No. 1 seed after winning the regular-season PBC title, the Nighthawks (22-3) are the only team guaranteed to play every tournament game at home. The quarterfinals are on the campuses of the higher-seeded teams, while the semifinals and finals will be held at the highest remaining seed.
"It's a huge honor to get the No. 1 seed. I can't explain how difficult it is when you play everyone twice in conference," UNG head coach Buffie Burson said. "I'm so incredibly happy for our team and proud of all the work they've put in to get to this point."
UNG opens the PBC tournament against No. 8 seed Young Harris College at 6 p.m. March 2 in Dahlonega. Tickets must be pre-purchased through the PBC's HomeTown Ticketing platform. Tickets are $10 each with PBC institution students, PBC Sports Pass holders and children ages 5 and under gaining free admission.
The winner of that contest advances to a March 5 semifinal game against the winner between No. 4 seed Columbus State University and No. 5 seed Augusta State University, with the PBC championship game set for March 6.
We will play with a lot of gratitude because we believe we have the best fans in the nation in Dahlonega. The community, our families, the pep band, and students always provide an awesome game-day experience and are our sixth man.
Buffie Burson
UNG women's basketball head coach
UNG will be going for its fourth PBC tournament championship in five seasons and is well on its way to a fifth straight NCAA Division II tournament bid. The Nighthawks enter the PBC tournament as the No. 1 team in the latest NCAA Southeast Region poll.
"We will play with a lot of gratitude because we believe we have the best fans in the nation in Dahlonega," Burson said. "The community, our families, the pep band, and students always provide an awesome game-day experience and are our sixth man."
The Nighthawks tallied a 16-2 PBC record during the regular season, including a pair of victories against second-place Lander University, which is ranked in the top 10 nationally.
The UNG men's basketball team (14-13) will play its PBC tournament opener on the road against No. 2 seed Flagler College at 7 p.m. March 1. The Nighthawks went 7-11 in PBC play to earn the No. 7 seed. A victory would advance UNG to a March 4 semifinal vs. the winner between No. 3 Georgia College and No. 6 Lander.
In addition to UNG's basketball teams, the Nighthawks rifle team will compete for hardware this weekend. UNG is taking aim at a fourth Southern Conference overall championship in the program's sixth season in the league. The Nighthawks earned their third Southern Conference title a year ago.
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