Issue: Summer 2015 | Posted: June 8, 2015

1050 U.U. Drive

Basketball teams compete in NCAA Division II national tourneys

Keren Boyce, freshman guard and undecided major, and Natalie Smith, sophomore guard and history major, celebrate a point in a tournament game March 13, 2015.

Union University’s Lady Bulldogs basketball team fell just short of advancing to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight this year, losing to Nova Southeastern 67-62 in the 2015 NCAA National Tournament South Region Title game in March.

With a record of 28-4, the Lady Bulldogs finished the season ranked 10th nationally in the university’s first year as an active member of NCAA Division II.

“I’m really proud of this team and the way they competed all year,” Union Coach Mark Campbell said. “We’ve fought against not being very athletic all year. When you look at our team warming up and then look at the other team, what makes our team good is the things you cannot see. This team loves each other in ways that most teams don’t.”

As the top-seeded team in the South Region, Union hosted play for the tournament’s first three rounds.

The men’s basketball team also advanced to the NCAA Division II National Tournament this year for the first time since 1968 after spending 47 years as a member of the NAIA. The Bulldogs lost to Barry University 73- 59 in the tournament’s opening round and finished with a 20-11 record.

Earlier in the fall, Union’s women’s cross country team captured the school’s first conference championship since joining the Gulf South Conference in 2012.