Samford women’s basketball will play Southern University in a First Four matchup to punch their ticket to the Round of 64 of the NCAA Tournament on March 19. The winner of the game will be the No. 16 seed set to play South Carolina.
The matchup was announced along with the rest of the bracket on ESPN’s selection show and watched by many Samford fans and players in Harry’s Coffeehouse.
Samford entered the postseason with a record of 13-18 and the No. 6 seed in the SoCon, but managed to beat the top three seeds in the conference tournament — No. 3 Wofford, No. 2 East Tennessee State and No. 1 Chattanooga — to earn their spot in the NCAA Tournament and the title of conference champions.
Samford’s dominance wasn’t a fluke, however; the team ended the regular season winning five of seven. That, combined with a nonconference schedule full of SEC and other power-conference opponents, set the women up for success in tournament play.
As the stakes rise even higher for the Bulldogs, senior Alyssa Tarpley remains calm and ready.
“We’ve got a game on Thursday, just like any other game,” said Tarpley. “I’m going to prepare for it and then hopefully play South Carolina on Saturday.”
The Southern Lady Jaguars come in as back-to-back Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) champions. Their nonconference schedule consisted of six ranked teams and wins over multiple power-conference teams. They were given the No. 4 seed in their conference tournament after going 12-6 in conference play. They made quick work of their opponents in the SWAC tournament to punch their ticket back into the NCAA Tournament.
Samford head coach Matt Wise looks forward to the national attention that comes with tournament play.
“My hope is going into a tournament is that win, lose or draw, everybody who watches comes away going ‘That’s what Samford is, that is what they are about’,” said Wise. “I hope they are a group that is based on intelligence and toughness and you see that come through with the amount of togetherness and love and competitiveness.”
This marks Samford’s third trip to the NCAA Tournament in program history and the program’s fourth conference championship (the team won in 2020, but no tournament was held due to Covid-19).
Samford will play Southern University on March 19 at 6 p.m. Central on ESPN2.
Sports Editor
