The last two times Lee University has met the University of Tampa in the Division II Women’s Basketball South Region, it has not been successful. The Spartans, a university with over 11,000 students, is always a challenge for most DII athletic programs. Friday's first round final action is scheduled for an 8:30 p.m. EDT start.
The Lady Flames (24-6) hopes to turn Friday’s challenge against the Spartans (26-6) inside Union University Fred DeLay Gymnasium in their favor. Lee Coach Marty Rowe says his team is very familiar with the Union gym.
In fact, the Lady Flames are the only team to defeat the 29-3 Lady Bulldogs on their home floor this season. Since that time Union has posted 15 straight wins.
Lee’s last loss to Tampa came two years ago when they hosted the South Region. They were also eliminated by the Spartans in the 2018-19 Region when the event was played at Lakeland, Fla. The Lady Flames have had one opportunity to host the South Region. At the end of the 2019-20 season, all the teams were in Cleveland and ready to play. Because COVID had gotten much worse the NCAA suddenly called in and cancelled the event.
Post players have given the Lady Flames problems in the last two meetings and that is something Coach Rowe and his staff will have to address when they face the Spartans again.
Zoe Piller is the young lady Lee is familiar with. She played at West Florida for two years before transferring to Tampa. At 6-foot, Piller leads the Spartans in points (18) and rebounding (17). The senior plays beside a graduate student Sariana Rodriguez who also stands at 6-foot and averages 10 points per game. Coach Rowe says another senior, Kath Van Bennekom, is an excellent guard that directs the team.
It is a loaded field that has been assembled in Jackson. West Florida has a 20-10 record. Miles College stands at 22-6, Embry-Riddle 26-4, Nova Southeastern 25-6 and Alabama Huntsville 25-6. If the Lady Flames defeat Tampa and Union wins over Miles, the two rivals will clash again on Saturday in the semifinal round.
All games will be streamed on Flo College. Fans can also listen to the broadcast locally on ESPN Cleveland 101.3
Ticket information is available online at www.uuathletics.com/tickets. Fans can purchase tickets at the Fred DeLay Gymnasium ticket office at the front (south) entrance one hour prior to the first game of each day. The prices for tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students (college or younger). Once tickets are purchased by the fans, Non-Union teams will be provided cards to pass out to up to 150 fans to be able to sit behind their team's bench for that game only. During games that do not involve your team, fans will need to move to another location in the gymnasium to make room for other fan bases to sit behind the bench.