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JACKSON, Tenn. - And then there were two. After two days and six games, only two teams and one game remain to determine who will represent the South Region in the 2016 NCAA Division II Elite Eight and those two teams will meet at 8 p.m. Eastern here Monday evening at Fred DeLay Gymnasium on the campus of Union University in the championship game of the South Regional Tournament.
Monday's regional championship game will pit region No. 4 seed Florida Southern against region No. 2 seed and 11th-ranked Benedict College for the right to advance to next week's Elite Eight at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Division II Elite Eight is scheduled for March 22-23, with national championship scheduled to be played on Monday, April 4 in conjunction with the Division I Women's Final Four at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.
The Moccasins, who are sporting a 26-5 overall record and have won eight of their last nine games with the only loss being a 71-62 setback to Florida Tech in the semifinals of last weekend's Sunshine State Conference Tournament, earned its third all-time appearance in the regional championship game following its 69-59 win on Saturday over No. 8 seeded Tampa and are seeking its second all-time regional title and first since 1995, while Benedict, who is 29-2 overall on the season, earned its first-ever spot in the regional championship game following its 69-57 win on Saturday over No. 6 seeded Nova Southeastern.
"Benedict is a very athletic and talented team that plays great defense and is very aggressive," Moccasin head coach Betsy Harris said following her team's 90-minute workout on Sunday at Union University. "We are going to have to keep our heads tomorrow against them when they pick up their aggressiveness."
Monday's game will mark the first all-time meeting between the two schools and the fifth time this season that the Mocs will have faced a team from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Mocs opened this season with back-to-back wins in Lakeland at the SSC/SIAC Challenge against Paine (95-61) and Clark Atlanta (94-80) and then the Mocs collected a 79-71 win at Claflin and opened the NCAA Tournament with a 61-50 win over Kentucky State. FSC is 12-1 all-time against members of the SIAC and is 3-0 against SIAC opponents in the NCAA Tournament.
Harris said that despite not facing Benedict this season, her team has played four games this season against teams from Benedict's league.
"We've played four of the teams in their league this season. We're 4-0 against their league this year," the Moccasin coach added. "Plus, we've been able to see them play two games in this tournament and I think that helps us tremendously. We definitely know what to expect."
Both of Benedict's losses this season came to two opponents the Mocs have faced as Benedict suffered a 74-73 loss at Kentucky State on Dec. 7 and the then fell 58-47 at Claflin on Jan. 30. Since that loss to Claflin, the Tigers have reeled off nine consecutive victories, including five in the postseason as they went 3-0 at the SIAC Tournament and are 2-0 in the NCAA Tournament.
In addition, Benedict is 6-0 against SSC foes this season as they faced Tampa, Saint Leo, Lynn and Palm Beach Atlantic in the regular season and then have faced Florida Tech and Nova Southeastern in the postseason. While Benedict went 6-0 against those foes, the Mocs posted a combined 10-4 record against those same SSC foes as they went 2-0 against Saint Leo, PBA and Lynn, were 3-0 against Tampa, 1-1 against Nova Southeastern and 0-3 against Florida Tech.
Benedict is looking to win its first ever regional championship and also be the first SIAC to advance to the Elite Eight since Tuskegee finished as the national runner-up in 1982. In addition, Benedict is the first SIAC school to play in a regional final since 1999 when Fort Valley State fell 63-52 to Arkansas Tech.
Meanwhile, Florida Southern is looking to advance to the Elite Eight for just the second time in school history and first time since 1995 when the Mocs claimed the South Regional title at home and then fell 79-77 to Missouri Western in national quarterfinals in Fargo, N.D. FSC is 1-1 all-time in regional final games as they fell to Delta State (96-78) in 1996. The SSC has won four straight South Regional championships as along with Nova Southeastern winning the last three titles, Rollins won the championship in 2012.
Monday's game will feature a match-up of two teams with contrasting styles as the Tigers are one of top defensive teams in Division II women's basketball as they lead Division II in field goal percentage defense (31.1 percent), rebound margin (+15.0) and is ninth in scoring margin (+18.6) and they are holding teams to 26.4 percent shooting from the 3-point line, while the Mocs are one of the top offensive teams in the nation as they are averaging 71.5 points per game and are shooting 43.2 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from the 3-point line, which is 10th in Division II and is 26th in free throw shooting (76.2 percent).
In two NCAA Tournament games, Benedict is limiting their opponents 43.5 points per game as they held Florida Tech to 30 points in the quarterfinal round and then limited Nova Southeastern to 57 in the semifinals.
"We have to take care of the ball, not let them get on the offensive boards and we have to make shots," Harris said when asked about the keys for her team on Monday night. "We have to make shots, it's as simple as that."
Leading the way for the Tigers offensively this season is senior guard Regime McCombs, who is averaging 15.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game and is shooting 38 percent from both the field and 3-point line and is second in the NCAA in made 3-pointers per game (3.7 per game). In addition to McCombs, two other Tigers are averaging in double figures as senior forward Terri Jacob is averaging 11.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game and is shooting 52 percent from the field and senior forward KaDeeja Vaughn is averaging 10.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game and is shooting 41 percent from the field on the season.
Meanwhile, leading the way offensively for the Mocs heading into Monday's game is senior forward Mariah Harris (Gainesville, Fla.) and sophomore guard Jensen Blassage (Cherry Valley, Ill.). Harris is averaging 12.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game and is shooting 49.3 percent from the field and has reached double figures in a team-best tying 19 games and has had two double-doubles, while Blassage is averaging 12.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game and is shooting 47 percent from the field, 43 percent from the 3-point line and 89 percent from the free throw line, which is 10th best in Division II and has scored in double figures in 19 games
In two NCAA Tournament games, the Mocs are averaging 65 points per game and are shooting 32 percent from the field and 33 percent from the 3-point line, but is 53-for-65 (81.5 percent) from the free throw line. Three Mocs are averaging in double figures as senior guard Shaquita Snow (Racine, Wis.) is averaging 15.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game and is shooting 50 percent from the field and 82 percent (14-for-17) from the free throw line, while Blassage is averaging 13.5 points per game and is 15-for-17 (88.2 percent) at the line and freshman guard Camille Giardina (Sarasota, Fla.) is averaging 11.5 points per game and has hit a team-best four treys in two games.
"It is actually pretty amazing and pretty special all in one. You just have to sit back and think about its and reflect and can't help but feel amazed by what this group of girls has done in a short time," the Mocs coach said. "We have already won 13 more games than we did last year, so that says a lot about these kids and the fight they have in them."
The winner of the South Regional will meet No. 1 ranked and South Central Region champion Lubbock Christian in one of four national quarterfinal games at the Sanford Pentagon on Tuesday, March 22. Lubbock Christian, who is 32-0 on the season, earned its first-ever berth in the Division II Elite Eight following its 88-68 win in Sunday's South Central Regional final against No. 4 seeded West Texas A&M. The Lady Chaps won their three South Central Regional Tournament games by an average margin of 23 points per game as they averaged 94.7 points per game and allowed just 71.7 points per game.
Click here for the South Regional Tournament home page