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A brawl broke out between No. 9 Coastal Carolina and No. 12 South Alabama at the Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Tournament in Pensacola, Fla., on Wednesday afternoon, resulting in eight players being ejected from the second round game.
With South Alabama leading by nine points and around 5:39 left in the fourth quarter, a scuffle broke out between South Alabama’s Kordasia Harris and Coastal Carolina’s Tracy Houston. Coaches and players on the bench spilled onto the floor, and one referee was hit by a player, caught in the crossfire, and crashed to the floor.
The Sunbelt newspaper told USA Today Sports in a statement that referee Mara Gearhart was evaluated by medical personnel at the Pensacola Bay Center and released.
After several minutes of deliberation, the referee ruled that Harris and Houston had double technicals and ejected them from the match. Officials also ejected six more South Alabama players for leaving the bench and coming into contact with Coastal players. The group included Daniella Gonzalez, Amya Sutton, Teren Coffill, Sania Beverley, Princess Okafor Nweze, and Jeriya Baines.
Gonzalez and Sutton were both starters and had combined for 25 points, eight assists and five rebounds at the time of their exits. Still, South Alabama, despite its weakened physical strength, persevered and won 80-70.
Harris, Sutton and Gonzalez were cited for fighting and received one-game suspensions, per NCAA regulations, the Sun Belt reported. This means the trio of South Alabama’s top three scorers will be suspended for the Jaguars’ next game, Thursday at 11:30 a.m. ET against No. 8 Texas State.
Additionally, the Sun Belt suspended Houston for the remainder of the season. She is in her fifth year, so her college basketball career is over.
