Friday’s game against 4th seeded Edison will be the first of two games of the women’s regional tournament that day and is slated to begin at 5:30 p.m.
The Cincinnati State women’s basketball team will begin postseason tournament play Friday, March 9, against Edison Community College.
The Lady Surge, ranked No. 2 in the nation, finished the regular season with a program-best 29-1 overall record and a perfect 12-0 in the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference. Cincinnati State enters this weekend’s National Junior College Athletic Association Region XII tournament in Toledo as the No. 1 seed.
Last season the Cincinnati State women won the regional tournament and earned a spot in the NJCAA national tournament, losing in the opening round to the eventual national champion and winning the final three games to finish with a No. 7 final national ranking.
Coach Ron Harris said this year’s team hopes to improve that performance this year.
“Since they were part of last’s season’s run, our sophomores have been focused to get back and improve on last year’s tournament success,’’ Harris said. “This is when it all counts and is what we all have been working toward. Our work ethic is what will get us where we want to be.’’
In Friday’s game, Cincinnati State will face an Edison team that relies heavily on frontcourt star Brianna Innocent, one of the top scorers in the NJCAA. She is coming off a 30-point performance in Edison’s win against Columbus State Tuesday in the opening round of the tournament.
Cincinnati State has already played Edison twice this year, and the players know what they’ll be up against.
“In both games, Edison played us tough,’’ said Cincinnati State sophomore and Western Hills High School graduate Asia Dillingham. “We need to play with high energy and be physical on the defensive end to advance. We will be ready.”
Friday’s game against 4th seeded Edison will be the first of two games of the women’s regional tournament that day and is slated to begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by 2nd seed and host school Owens Community College taking on 3rd seeded Sinclair Community College at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday’s championship game is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.
ABOUT CINCINNATI STATE
Cincinnati State (www.cincinnatistate.edu) offers more than 75 associate degree and 40 certificate programs in business technologies, health and public safety, engineering technologies, humanities and sciences and information technologies. About 10,600 students are enrolled in the 2012 Winter Term. Cincinnati State has one of the largest cooperative education programs in the United States.
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