The UNG women's basketball team won the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional with a 59-57 victory against Lander to reach the Elite Eight in Birmingham, Alabama.
Article By: Clark Leonard
The University of North Georgia (UNG) women's basketball team refused to be denied, and now the Nighthawks are headed to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Birmingham, Alabama. In its second NCAA Elite Eight appearance — the other was in 2019 — UNG is the No. 1 overall seed after the remaining teams were reseeded.
UNG opens the weeklong championship event against No. 8 seed Pace University (24-7) at 7 p.m. on March 21 at the Birmingham Crossplex. The winner advances to a March 23 semifinal against the victor of the matchup between fourth-seeded Valdosta State University (26-5) and fifth-seeded Western Washington University (23-5), and the national championship game is set for 8 p.m. on March 25. The semifinals and title game are also in Birmingham.
"We look forward to the opportunity to build on our experience from our trip in 2019 and play against some of the best teams in the country," UNG head coach Buffie Burson said. "I'm beyond excited for our players to compete for a national title. I know they will give it all they have and then some."
The semifinals and championship game will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network. Stay tuned to the UNG Athletics website for ticket information as well as live coverage updates.
Other teams in the Elite Eight include second-seeded Grand Valley State University, third-seeded Glenville State College, sixth-seeded West Texas A&M University and seventh-seeded Missouri Western State University.
After a 34-21 halftime lead turned into a five-point fourth-quarter deficit, UNG rallied for a 59-57 victory against Lander University on March 14 in the Southeast Regional championship at the Convocation Center in Dahlonega.
I'm beyond excited for our players to compete for a national title. I know they will give it all they have and then some.
Buffie Burson
UNG women's basketball head coach
"The adversity in the game matched the adversity we faced all season, so our team knew to never stop fighting," Burson said. "The ending is a true testament to the character and resiliency of each player and our team as a whole. The communication and body language when things got tough got us through to the end."
Senior forward Julianne Sutton's putback with 20 seconds left proved to be the game-winner.
The Nighthawks, the top seed in the regional, went 3-0 this season against No. 2 seed Lander, their Peach Belt Conference rival. UNG knocked out Columbus State University by a 63-42 score and Carson-Newman University by a 78-64 margin earlier in regional play.
Jamari McDavid tallied a team-high 20 points and eight rebounds in the regional final and was named the regional's Most Outstanding Player, with Sutton adding 17 points and 11 rebounds and Caroline Martin pitching in 11 points and five rebounds. Sutton joined McDavid on the All-Regional team.
"Being able to go back to the Elite Eight is something that our team has been striving for. It is exciting to see all our hard work paying off," Sutton said. "We are focused on the next steps ahead and taking it one game at a time. We are about to play some of the best teams in the nation, and we want to do our best each time we step on the floor."
This season marked the fifth in a row UNG earned an NCAA tournament berth. In the four of those years the tournament has been played (excluding the COVID-19 cancellation in 2020), UNG has reached the regional finals every time. Now, the Nighthawks will seek out their first NCAA national semifinal appearance.
