TICKET PUNCHED. Greensboro captures USA South Tournament Championship to advance to the NCAA DIII Tournament
Greensboro, NC – In the championship game of the 2023 USA South Women’s Basketball Tournament, held on the campus of Greensboro College, the host top-seeded Pride defeated second-seeded N.C. Wesleyan, 97-90, to win the program’s seventh championship. The 187 total points scored were the most in Conference championship game history, with Greensboro’s 97 points being the most scored by a team in the finals.
Greensboro started fast by scoring the game’s first eight points in the opening 70 seconds. After N.C. Wesleyan’s first bucket of the game, the Pride once again rattled off eight-straight to build an early 16-2 advantage. The first quarter closed with Greensboro owning a sizable 34-17 lead. The Battling Bishops fought back in the second quarter and thanks to a 20-12 run got to within nine points before the Pride answered with a mini 5-2 run to take a 51-39 lead into halftime.
After an initial three pointer by N.C. Wesleyan to start the third quarter, Greensboro doubled-up the Battling Bishops by outscoring them 24-12 the rest of the stanza for a 75-54 lead heading into the final ten minutes. The Battling Bishops showed their grit by going on a 21-5 run to open the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. A three pointer with two minutes remaining pulled N.C. Wesleyan to within three points but that would be as close as they would get thanks to a mini 5-0 Greensboro run which put the game away.
Greensboro was led by tournament Most Valuable Player Senior Ta’Keria Legette (Latta, SC) who scored a co-game high 24 points with three rebounds, three assists, and three steals. For the tournament, Legette averaged 19.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game. Additionally for the Pride, Sophomore, Lauren Livingston (Greenwood, SC) matched Legette with 24 points of her own to go along with a game-high nine assists. Finally for Greensboro, Junior Quadijah Moore (Greenswood, SC) had a double-double of 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. For N.C. Wesleyan, Nadia Simmons had a team-high 21 points while Kaniya Cromartie notched a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds.
2023 All-Tournament Team
Kaniya Cromartie, N.C. Wesleyan
Audrey Jennings, Greensboro
Kayrisma Harrison, N.C. Wesleyan
Ta’Keria Legette, Greensboro (MVP)
Quadijah Moore, Greensboro
Nadia Simmons, N.C. Wesleyan
Visit the Tournament Website for further information, including the Tournament Bracket.
2023 USA South Women’s Basketball Tournament Results
(All contests played at the higher-seeded team in the matchup)
First Round – Tuesday, February 21
#8 Salem – 68 #1 Greensboro – 109
#7 Pfeiffer – 49 #2 N.C. Wesleyan – 58
#6 Methodist – 76 #3 Brevard – 84
#5 Meredith – 41 #4 Southern Virginia – 66
Semifinals – Thursday, February 23
#4 Southern Virginia – 71 #1 Greensboro – 76
#3 Brevard – 62 #2 N.C. Wesleyan – 68
Final – Saturday, February 25
#2 N.C. Wesleyan – 90 #1 Greensboro – 97