2015 GSC Tournament Info

ROME, Ga. – When the season began, the Shorter women's basketball team knew it would have to better adapt to the many battles they were about to wage in one of the toughest NCAA Division II conferences in the nation.

That they did as the Lady Hawks overcame the obstacles they faced to eventually earn the program's first-ever GSC post-season appearance, which begins Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in Pensacola, Fla., when Shorter squares off against the defending champion West Florida Argos in the first round of the 2015 VisitSpaceCoast.com Gulf South Conference Basketball Championships.

Now it's time to adjust to the circumstances one more time and, more than anything, adapt a game plan in which they know they have to control the game.
"We have to play smarter because we're not as deep as we were," head coach Vic Mitchell said about what the Lady Hawks, the tourney's No. 7 seed with a 12-16 record, must accomplish despite missing two key players that helped them earn a tournament berth.

"We'll take the transition if it's there," he said, "but if it's not there we have to slow it down, stop their transition and slow the tempo down some more."

When the two teams faced each other during the regular season, Shorter found itself in both contests for 30 minutes, only to see West Florida take control down the stretch to pick up wins, the first a 61-51 decision in December in Florida and the second a 69-62 victory when the teams met in Rome.

"They're just a very, very solid defensive team," Mitchell said about the 19-7 Argos. "Our shooters have had a tough time getting open, but we feel it's not a bad matchup."

In fact, Shorter's last six games have seen the Lady Hawks play their best performances of the year with the team notching three wins down the stretch while the three setbacks were decided by just 12 total points, including a loss last weekend in the final regular season game in which Lee hit a shot in the final seconds to determine the outcome.

"Now is the time where we need to win those kind of games," Mitchell said.

To do that, the Lady Hawks must rely of a small roster – Lindsey Crawford was lost for the season with a knee injury two weeks ago and Shaundricka Mann did not make the trip for family reasons – that will be tasked to spend a lot of minutes on the court.

Once again anchoring Shorter's lineup will be Ieshia Alexander, who has been a consistent offensive bright spot for the Lady Hawks, averaging a team-best 15.6 points a game.

She, however, is the lone Lady Hawks to be in double figures for the season as Shorter has relied on contributions throughout the lineup each time they play, including Cynara Pitt (8.1 ppg) and Jackie Hudson (6.6.)

Averaging 63 points a game, Shorter – the Lady Hawks give up an average of 64 points – is aware that dictating the tempo of the game against the Argos means slowing down a West Florida team that has multiple weapons.

Toni Brewer, who was named the GSC's Freshman of the Year, leads the Argos averaging 12.4 points and 6.2 rebounds, but is the tip of the team's offensive iceberg as five players are averaging in double digits.

"We're excited that we're playing in the tournament," Mitchell said about the event that heads to the Pete Hanna Center on the campus of Samford in Birmingham, Ala., on Friday and Saturday for the respective semifinals and championship games, "and the team is excited that we're still playing."