MONTICELLO – The University of Arkansas at Monticello women’s basketball team has qualified for the 2009 NCAA South Region Tournament to be played at Delta State University in Cleveland, Miss.
 
The Blossoms earned a No. 5 seed in the tournament and will play the No. 4 seed, Rollins College, on Friday, March 13 at Walter Sillers Coliseum for an 8 p.m. tip-off. That game is scheduled to be the finale of the opening round and will be the first time UAM and Rollins has met in women’s basketball action.
 
The winner of the first round game will face either No. 1 Delta State or No. 8 Valdosta State in the regional tournament semi-finals on Saturday, March 14 at 8 p.m.
 
This is only the second time in the program’s 14-year NCAA Division II existence to qualify for a regional tournament. Current UAM Athletic Director Alvy Early led the 1997-98 squad to an appearance in the regional tournament championship game before falling to Arkansas Tech to end the season with an overall record of 23-8.
 
Current head coach Chris Ratcliff has guided this year’s team to a 20-8 record, including two wins in the Gulf South Conference Championship Tournament to earn the team’s first ever appearance in the finals. Delta State defeated UAM 53-51 in overtime in the championship game.
 
UAM’s opponent, Rollins College, earns its 11th all-time berth into the regional tournament after holding the No. 1 spot in the region rankings for the majority of the season. The Lady Tars lost a couple games down the stretch allowing Delta State to creep into the top spot.
 
Rollins brings a 24-5 overall record into the regional tournament after finishing the Sunshine State Conference Championship Tournament the same way UAM did, runners-up. The Lady Tars lost to Tampa in the championship game by a final score of 55-29.
 
Statistically, both teams match up similarly. One significant difference is UAM’s average of 77.6 points per game to Rollins’ 64.8. Rollins makes up for the difference with an average of only 53.7 points allowed per game. The Blossoms average 66.5 points allowed per contest.
 
UAM has a slight advantage in the field goal percentage category, shooting 43 percent from the field, while Rollins enters the tournament shooting 38 percent from the field.
 
Both teams have relied heavily on the three-ball. Rollins has attempted 563 treys, connecting on 187 for a .332 shooting percentage. UAM has attempted 589 three-pointers, connecting on 165 for a .280 shooting percentage.
 
Both teams have also hit the boards hard this year. UAM has racked up 1,186 rebounds, an average of just over 42 per contest and a +6.4 margin over its opponents. Rollins takes the category after racking up 1,307 rebounds, an average of just under 44 boards per contest and a +7.9 margin over its opponents.

Individually, the Lady Tars are led by Jessica Pressley and Ines Teuma. Pressley averages 10.7 points per contest, while Teuma also averages double-digits with 10.1 points per game. Pressley is Rollins’ main three-point threat with 71 treys made this year.
 
Pressley and Teuma both earned All-Sunshine State Conference Second Team Honors, while teammate Paris Moore was selected to the All-Freshman Team.
 
The Blossoms are led by a trio of double-digit players. Andrea Dubose leads the team, averaging 13.7 points per game, followed by Monica Perkins-Miller at 13 points per game and Erika Brown at 12.9 points per game.
 
Dubose is ranked fourth in the nation with an average of just under four steals per contest. She has racked up 110 steals this season, the exact same total she collected in her junior campaign.
 
Dubose and Perkins-Miller were both named to All-GSC First Team. Those two, along with Erika Brown were also named to the All-GSC Tournament Team.
 
The game can be heard live on the radio in southeast Arkansas at radio station, KHBM-FM 93.7. That broadcast will also be available live over the Internet at uamsports.com.