No.5 Montevallo (14-6) vs. No.4 Union (18-5)
WHEN: Friday, March 12th
WHERE: Dahlonega, GA
TIP-OFF: 4:00 PM
ARENA: UNG Convocation Center
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DAHLONEGA, Ga. - The University of Montevallo women's basketball team made history by being selected to their first NCAA tournament since joining NCAA DII during the 1995-96 season. The Falcons (14-6) earned an at-large berth and the No. 5 seed in the upcoming South Regional Championship, March 12-15, and face a very a familiar team in No. 4 seed Union University (18-5). Union defeated Lee University to win the 2021 GSC Championship and received an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. The South Regional will be hosted by the University of North Georgia at the UNG Convocation Center in Dahlonega, Ga.
Head coach Gary Van Atta talked about the team's preparation and season, "It's nice to have the prep work behind us knowing we are playing a familiar foe in Union. I have been able to watch our team and see the excitement in their eyes and watch the way they are preparing for this opportunity. It has been an especially rewarding season for me to be in this NCAA tournament after all that we went through with this COVID-riddled year."
The match-up is a repeat of last Friday's GSC semifinal game that was played on Union's home court. In the game, Union took a 17-point lead at the 6:03 mark in the third quarter. UM chipped away at the lead trailing the Bulldogs by ten points heading into the final quarter.
With 2:54 left in the game, the Falcons took their first lead on the strength of a three pointer by junior guard Jordan Jones. The Falcons and Bulldogs exchanged the lead and with one second remaining in the game, Bulldogs point guard Sadie Knee knocked down a huge three-pointer to give Union a 68-66 victory and a berth into the GSC championship game.
The winner of the Montevallo – Union game will play the host North Georgia Nighthawks (17-1) on Saturday night at 4:00 pm CST. North Georgia won the Peach Belt Conference Tournament title and earned the top-seed in the regional as hosting duties were previously announced last month. Fellow Gulf South Conference members Lee University (#6-seed) and Valdosta State University (#3-seed) will play in the other regional game and the winner will take on PBC regular season champion Lander (#2-seed).
The Gulf South Conference had four teams qualify for the NCAA Regional and all four teams reached the semifinal round of the GSC Championship tournament. The top two teams from the Peach Belt Conference, North Georgia and Lander, met for the second time in the PBC Championship Saturday as UNG avenged an earlier loss to Lander with a 72-70 victory.
