Lady Tigers Set To Take On Talented Valdosta State Team In NCAA Tournament
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Benedict Athletics) – Two of the hottest teams in NCAA Division II women’s basketball will face off in the first round of the South Region tournament on the campus of Eckerd University at noon on Friday.
Benedict, 21-7, is riding a 15-game winning streak. The last loss for the Lady Tigers came nearly three months ago, on the road at Lynn on Dec. 18. Since then, the Lady Tigers closed out the regular season with 12 straight wins, then won three games at the SIAC Tournament for their second straight conference title.
Valdosta State is 22-9 overall and has won its last five games, including three wins in the Gulf South Conference tournament. The Lady Blazers have also won 12 of their last 13 games. In the GSC title game, Valdosta State dominated top seed West Florida and won 91-79.
Despite Benedict being the region’s third seed and Valdosta State seeded sixth, Benedict head coach James Rice says this game could be one of the toughest on Friday’s opening round.
“I think it’s probably going to be one of the toughest matchups,” Rice said. “They’re one of the better teams in this regional. They’re really skilled at every position and they’re big and strong. It’s going to be a tough matchup.”
Valdosta State is led by a pair of All-Conference performers in 6-foot-1 junior forward Madi Mitchell and 5-9 guard Kenya Samone’ Dixon. Mitchell averaged 16.9 points and 8.5 rebounds per game this season. Samone’ Dixon averaged 15.2 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, while also being one of the top 3-point shooters in the GSC, connecting on 42 percent of her long-range shots. Valdosta State ranks 12th in the nation in total rebounds and 18thin rebounding margin. Samone’ Dixon ranks 18th in the nation in defensive rebounds per game.
Benedict is making its fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, and Rice said the biggest thing he has learned about these postseason tournament games is there are no bad teams.
“All these teams have more than two players who can play. Usually, they’ve got three or four players at one time who can score and light it up,” Rice said. “Just like Valdosta, they’ve got five on the court every time who can pretty much score at will. They play great team basketball on this level. Defensively, they’re sound, not a gambling team. They play great position defense. They play fundamentally sound and play the right way.”
Valdosta State coach Carley Kuhns, who was named GSC Coach of the Year in her first year at the helm of the Lady Blazers, said her team is just excited for the chance to play in the NCAA Tournament. She took over for a team that went 11-17 last year.
“I’m just excited. Any matchup in this regional is going to be a tough matchup. Any one of the eight teams could win this tournament. I’m excited we’re here and we’re going to take it one game at a time,” Kuhns said.
Kuhns said the Lady Blazers are probably playing their best basketball now. “With a new coach coming in, it’s taken us the year to kind of gel. I do think we’ve figured out who’s good at what and our strengths, and we’re just trying to have fun.”
A year ago, Benedict advanced to the South Region championship game. But only two players returned from that squad, so Rice said it is important to keep the new players focused.
“This is a new team, so it’s going to be how comfortable they are going to be in this atmosphere. It’s my job to try to make sure they understand it’s another game, it’s a winnable game,” Rice said. “It’s a winnable game if you go in there believing you can compete. If you go in there and think it’s not a winnable game, bad things can happen. Hopefully, these girls are confident and they’re ready to play. And hopefully we can do something special.”
