Sergio Guerra, Sports Editor/Photographer 

GREENSBORO, NC – UNCG Women’s Basketball entered the Southern Conference Championships as the first seed with a 13-1 record in conference play. On their way to the final, the Spartans faced Western Carolina and Wofford. UNCG won the SOCON Championship after overtime against the Chattanooga Mocs 64-57. UNCG received an automatic berth into the NCAA March Madness tournament with this result and will face No. 1 Southern California in the first round.  

Khalis Cain was instrumental in the success the Spartans found in the SOCON Championship game. When facing Chattanooga, Cain recorded an incredible double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds. She added five blocks on her way to being named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and being placed on the First Team All-Tournament. After the match, Coach Trina Patterson stated that Cain was their “M.I.P.” or most important person on defense. 

Jayde Gamble (12 points) and Nya Smith (10 points) brought in double-digit point tallies to push the Spartans over the line in the win against Chattanooga. Gamble was also named in the Second Team All-Tournament, accumulating 29 points and 11 rebounds throughout the tournament. UNCG’s Kelly Boyle also received the Knight Commission Pinnacle Award for having the highest GPA on the championship-winning team.  

Selection Sunday is when the bracket for the NCAA’s March Madness tournament is set, which took place on March 16. The UNCG Spartans went in as a No. 16 seed and were drawn against No. 1 seed, the Southern California Trojans. The Trojans had an impressive regular season, finishing with a record of 17-1 in Big Ten conference play. However, the Big Ten Championship game saw the Trojans fall to the UCLA Bruins 72-67. 

The Women of Troy were in the NCAA Tournament last year, where they made it to the Elite Eight. They were knocked out of the bracket by the UConn Huskies. This year, the Huskies were seeded at No. 2 in the same region as USC, meaning that an Elite Eight rematch between these two sides is possible. USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb has revealed some frustration with the seeding and has stated, “I thought there would be very little chance that we’d be the No. 4 overall No. 1.” 

This is UNCG’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1998, and the Spartans are one of five North Carolina teams that will be participating in the NCAA Tournament. The other NC schools are NC State, High Point, UNC Chapel Hill, and Duke. However, UNCG is unlikely to face off against any of their in-state counterparts due to distance in the bracket.  

UNCG Women’s Basketball is set to travel to Los Angeles to face USC in the first round of March Madness on Saturday, March 22.