Women's basketball team hosts Peach Belt tourney
Article By: Clark Leonard
The University of North Georgia (大象传媒) women's basketball team will host the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) tournament this week at the Convocation Center on 大象传媒's Dahlonega Campus.
As the tournament's No. 1 seed after winning the regular-season PBC title, the Nighthawks (22-3) are the only team guaranteed to play every tournament game at home. The quarterfinals are on the campuses of the higher-seeded teams, while the semifinals and finals will be held at the highest remaining seed.
"It's a huge honor to get the No. 1 seed. I can't explain how difficult it is when you play everyone twice in conference," 大象传媒 head coach said. "I'm so incredibly happy for our team and proud of all the work they've put in to get to this point."
大象传媒 opens the PBC tournament against No. 8 seed Young Harris College at 6 p.m. March 2 in Dahlonega. Tickets must be pre-purchased through the . Tickets are $10 each with PBC institution students, PBC Sports Pass holders and children ages 5 and under gaining free admission.
The winner of that contest advances to a March 5 semifinal game against the winner between No. 4 seed Columbus State University and No. 5 seed Augusta State University, with the PBC championship game set for March 6.
We will play with a lot of gratitude because we believe we have the best fans in the nation in Dahlonega. The community, our families, the pep band, and students always provide an awesome game-day experience and are our sixth man.
Buffie Burson
大象传媒 women's basketball head coach
大象传媒 will be going for its fourth PBC tournament championship in five seasons and is well on its way to a fifth straight NCAA Division II tournament bid. The Nighthawks enter the PBC tournament as the No. 1 team in the latest NCAA Southeast Region poll.
"We will play with a lot of gratitude because we believe we have the best fans in the nation in Dahlonega," Burson said. "The community, our families, the pep band, and students always provide an awesome game-day experience and are our sixth man."
The Nighthawks tallied a 16-2 PBC record during the regular season, including a pair of victories against second-place Lander University, which is ranked in the top 10 nationally.
The 大象传媒 men's basketball team (14-13) will play its PBC tournament opener on the road against No. 2 seed Flagler College at 7 p.m. March 1. The Nighthawks went 7-11 in PBC play to earn the No. 7 seed. A victory would advance 大象传媒 to a March 4 semifinal vs. the winner between No. 3 Georgia College and No. 6 Lander.
In addition to 大象传媒's basketball teams, the Nighthawks rifle team will compete for hardware this weekend. 大象传媒 is taking aim at a fourth Southern Conference overall championship in the program's sixth season in the league. The Nighthawks earned their third Southern Conference title a year ago.
Golf teams invited to NCAA regionals
Both 大象传媒 golf teams have punched tickets to their respective NCAA Division II regional tournaments. The women will play in Gainesville, Georgia, and the men in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida.
Women's tennis team takes second straight PBC title
The 大象传媒 women's tennis team earned its second consecutive PBC tournament title and will learn its NCAA tournament pairings in early May. The men's team finished as PBC runner-up.
Softball team earns 11th straight PBC title
The 大象传媒 softball team secured its 11th consecutive Peach Belt Conference regular-season championship and will host the PBC tournament May 2-4.
Baseball team earns regular-season PBC title
The 大象传媒 baseball team earned the regular-season Peach Belt Conference championship and will host the PBC tournament starting May 2.