The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

JUST one Bahamian player saw her programme advance to the Women’s NCAA Tournament following the “Selection Monday” process for the field of 64.

Lashann Higgs will participate in her second NCAA Tournament in as many seasons as her Texas Longhorns were named the No. 3 seed in the Lexington Region.

The Longhorns will have the good fortune of hosting the first two rounds at home at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.They begin tournament play Friday against No.14 seed Central Arkansas at 2:30 pm local time on ESPN2. 

In her sophomore season, Higgs averaged eight points, three rebounds, 1.5 assists and one steal  in just over 17 minutes per game. Last year, as a freshman, she averaged 7.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game in 13.2 minutes. She established an important role in the rotation for the Longhorns highlighted by a season high 16 points over then second ranked Baylor.

The Longhorns finished the season 23-8, concluded by a 62-59 loss to the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Big 12 Tournament Semi-finals.

The second-seeded Longhorns will be joined in Austin by sixth-seeded North Carolina State, 11th-seeded Auburn and 14th-seeded Central Arkansas.

Texas is making its 30th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, becoming just the fourth school in NCAA history to be selected for 30 NCAA Tournament berths. The Longhorns hold an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 38-28 (.576). They are hosting the NCAA First and Second Rounds for the second consecutive year and the seventh time since 1997. Texas is 21-9 (.700) all-time in NCAA Tournament games played at home. 

Last season, the Longhorns finished 31-5 and earned an NCAA Elite Eight appearance. Higgs finished the final game of their season with a career high 19 points in the Longhorns’ 86-65 loss to the eventual champion UConn Huskies in the Bridgeport Regional Semi-final. It was the second consecutive season the Huskies ended the year for the Longhorns after they routed them by 50 in the 2015 Sweet 16.

The Longhorns are the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in programme history. Texas is 4-4 all-time when playing as a No. 3 seed in the NCAAs.

Texas has six wins in 12 games this season against Associated Press top-25 opponents. The Longhorns have been ranked among the nation’s top-20 teams the entire season. 

In the coaching ranks, Yolett McPhee-McCuin and her Jacksonville University Jaguars came up just short in making consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament but earned a berth to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT).

The Dolphins received an at large bid and will play on the road at Georgia Tech on Thursday. 

The tournament field consists of 32 automatic invitations – one from each conference – and 32 at-large teams. As a runner-up in the league tournament, Stetson received the ASUN’s automatic qualifier.

“Since taking over this programme, our goal has been to win championships,” head coach McPhee-McCuin said on the Dolphins’ athletic website. “We’re obviously disappointed with the outcome of this year’s results but the opportunity to participate in the WNIT is quite an honour. I am encouraged as another postseason berth shows the true trajectory of our programme. We will represent Jacksonville University and the ASUN to the best of our ability.”

The Dolphins’ 23 wins tied the school mark for most wins in a season and they also had the best RPI in the conference. Last season, McPhee-McCuin led the Dolphins to a 22-11 record, the A-Sun tournament title and their first NCAA Tournament championship berth in school history.