OCALA, Fla. – Four players scored in double figures as the No. 18 nationally-ranked FSW women's basketball team defeated Santa Fe, 79-75, in the quarterfinals of 2018 FCSAA/NJCAA District VIII Women's Basketball Championship. The Purple and Aqua advance to the semifinals and will face defending FCSAA State Champion No. 2 Gulf Coast State College on Friday, March 9 at 6 p.m.
With the win, the Buccaneers move to 26-5 on the season, while the Saints fall to 17-13 overall.
Sophomore LaToya Ashman led the team with a game-high 20 points. She also added four boards and two assists. Freshman Tina Stephens chipped in with 15 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, while sophomore Kiara Meeks finished with 14 points, nine boards and three assists. Sophomore Erna Normil tallied 12 points and eight rebounds in the win.
The 2018 Suncoast Conference Champion FSW women's squad will return to action on Friday, March 9 (6 p.m.) against No. 2 Gulf Coast State in the semifinals of 2018 FCSAA/NJCAA District VIII Women's Basketball Championship.
FSW will charter a bus for Friday's FSW semifinal matchups. Fans wanting to sign up for the bus trip, should call FSW Director of Institutional Promotions & Development Joe Turner at (239) 489-9432 or email him at Joseph.Turner@fsw.edu.
The Fan Bus will leave the parking lot of Suncoast Credit Union Arena between 8-8:15 a.m. on Friday morning. Spots are LIMITED and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis and in order to make each trip happen a minimum of 25 signups is needed. The cost of each trip is just $15 per person and does not include a ticket to the game. Tickets will be available in session (two games per session) or a full tournament pass. Session tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for students, while Tournament Passes are $25 for adults and $15 for students. Kids 3 and under will be admitted free.
Fox Sports Radio SWFL will carry FSW men's and women's basketball radio broadcasts for their postseason runs (starting with the semifinals), putting FSW on a major sports radio station in Southwest Florida. David Moulton, from the popular Miller & Moulton Show (6-9 a.m.; Monday-Friday) on 94.1 Fox Sports, and color commentator Greg Anderson will have the call during the broadcasts.
Fan can listen to each broadcast on the radio on 103.3 FM (Cape Coral /North Fort Myers), 94.1 FM (Fort Myers/Estero) or 105.9 (Naples/Bonita) or online at FoxSportsFM.com.
All games at the tournament will be webcast through the official FCSAA YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh4ZLsoE41xmeAZbJbDZnug/featured).
FOLLOW THE BUCS
For the latest news on FSW Athletics, log on to FSWBucs.com or stay connected to the Bucs on social media. Follow the Buccaneers on Twitter @FSWBucs, on Instagram @FSWBucs, on Facebook at Facebook.com/FSWBucs and on Snapchat at BucsSnaps.
SUNCOAST CREDIT UNION ARENA
The Buccaneers compete in the brand new Suncoast Credit Union Arena. Suncoast Credit Union Arena is approximately 75,000 square feet and is home to the FSW basketball teams and a student athletic center. The arena seats approximately 3,300 fans and includes six skyboxes, a hospitality event center, competition courts that convert into recreational courts, athletic office space, student, faculty and staff wellness, and an athletic center with a fitness pavilion, men's and women's locker rooms and a weight training area. The arena has two Daktronics displays, on the north and south walls, that each measure 10 feet high by 20 feet wide. Both displays incorporate variable content zoning to each show one large image or they can be divided into multiple windows to show any variety of live video, instant replays, up-to-the-minute statistics, graphics and animations, and sponsorship messages. One-hundred feet of ribbon displays have been installed on the east and west walls of the arena. The ribbons provide the opportunity to supplement the content on the main displays as well as highlight sponsors throughout events.
FLORIDA SOUTHWESTERN
The Florida SouthWestern State College athletic program is a member of the Florida College System Athletic Association (FCSAA) and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The Buccaneers are one of 25 schools in the NJCAA Region 8 and are one of six schools in the Suncoast Conference. Florida SouthWestern State College currently supports four intercollegiate athletic programs (Baseball, Softball, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball).
Baseball and Softball began their regular season competition in 2016 at the City of Palms Park in Fort Myers. Located on the Thomas Edison (Lee) Campus in Fort Myers is the brand new Suncoast Credit Union Arena (completed in fall 2016), where FSW's men's and women's basketball teams compete.
THE NJCAA
The movement to form a unique sports association dedicated to America's two-year colleges arose in 1937 when several track and field coaches gathered in Fresno, California. A year later, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rejected a petition from 13 two-year colleges in California to grant their teams and athletes permission to compete at the NCAA Track & Field Championships.
In the spring of 1938, following the NCAA's rejection, those same 13 two-year colleges gathered again in Fresno to organize and form an association that would promote and supervise a national athletics program exclusively for junior and community colleges…and the rest is history.
On May 14, 1938, the first constitution of the National Junior College Athletic Association was accepted by its charter members and the organization held its first national championship event a year later in May 1939.
The NJCAA has played a vital role in collegiate athletics for the past eight decades and continues to be the leader in championing academic and athletic opportunities for student-athletes. This section of the association's website is dedicated to celebrating the NJCAA's rich history and tradition as the national governing body of two-year college athletics.
For more information on the NJCAA log on to www.NJCAA.org.
THE FCSAA
The Florida College System Activities Association, Incorporated (FCSAA) is a statewide non‑profit corporation regulating, coordinating, and promoting intercollegiate activities in: Athletics, Brain Bowl, Forensics, Music, Student Government, Student Publications, and Theatre.
Membership in the Florida College System Activities Association is open to any of the 28 colleges in the Florida College System. Each member institution is represented in the policy‑making deliberations of the Association through that institution's President or other designated representative. The institutional representatives constitute the FCSAA Presidents Assembly, the ultimate authority in FCSAA.
For more information on the FCSAA log on to www.TheFCSAA.com.
NJCAA REGION 8 & THE SUNCOAST CONFERENCE
Member colleges of the NJCAA are allotted to a specific NJCAA Region upon membership to the association. Unlike other collegiate organizations that defer to conference affiliation, the NJCAA guarantees each member college's membership within the regional structure of the association. In most cases, region assignment is based upon geographic location of the college.
The region structure of the NJCAA is the primary method used by all sponsored sports of the association in determining qualification for national championship tournaments. In certain sports, two or more regions are partnered to form a competition 'district', which is then used for national championship qualification. The organization of districts varies per sport and is formulated every two years under the authority of the association's board of directors.
FSW is in Region 8 and is joined by ASA College Miami (Region 8 only; non-FCSAA member), Broward College, Chipola College, College of Central Florida, Daytona State College, Eastern Florida State College, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Gulf Coast State College, Hillsborough Community College, Indian River State College, Lake-Sumter State College, Miami Dade College, Northwest Florida State College, Palm Beach State College, Pasco-Hernando State College, Pensacola State College, Polk State College, Santa Fe College, Seminole State College of Florida, South Florida State College, St. Johns River State College, St. Petersburg College, State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota and Tallahassee Community College.
The Bucs are also in the Suncoast Conference with Hillsborough Community College, Polk State College, South Florida State College, St. Petersburg College and State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota. The women's basketball program is also in the Suncoast Conference, but with only three other teams (Hillsborough Community College, St. Petersburg College and Eastern Florida State College).
For more information on Region 8 log on to www.TheFCSAASports.com.