Cincinnati State women earn berth in national tournament

March 7, 2011

The Cincinnati State women’s basketball team has earned a berth in the National Junior College Athletic Association national tournament March 15-19 in Peoria, Ill.

The Lady Surge, ranked 14th in the NJCAA Div. II polls, made it to the national tournament on the strength of a come-from-behind 75-71 victory in the Region 12 District 7 tournament final against Owens Community College on Saturday.

Down 66-63 with 2:33 left, Cincinnati State forced the 11th ranked Owens Express into turning the ball over six times during that stretch.

The weekend was not as kind to the Cincinnati State men’s team, which saw its season end with a 77-89 loss Saturday to Lakeland Community College in the championship game of the NJCAA district tournament. Last year, Cincinnati State clawed its way into the national tournament, pulled off an upset in the opening round and made it to the championship game before finishing second.

Theresa Check, Cincinnati State’s athletic director and head coach of the Lady Surge, said she is hoping some of that luck – and just a bit more – rubs off of the women’s team this year.

Check was named Coach of the Year this past weekend by her colleagues in NJCAA Region 12.

The NJCAA Div. II National Tournament will be held at Illinois Central College. Pairings are scheduled to be announced March 8.

The Cincinnati State Lady Surge qualified for the NJCAA Sweet Sixteen in 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2005, and the Elite Eight in 2001 and 2005, when it was a NJCAA Div.1 school. This marks the team’s first trip to the national tournament as a Div. 2 institution. This year the Lady Surge compiled a 22-10 record overall, 12-2 in the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference.

For more information about the NJCAA tournament, please see http://www.icc.edu/njcaatournament/.