WSSU Lady Rams earn first NCAA Tournament berth, face Glenville State Friday
Talk about saving the best for last.
The Winston-Salem State University Lady Rams were among the last two teams to hear their name called during Selection Sunday for the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Tournament, which begins March 13.
WSSU, which ended the season with an outstanding 26-3 record after winning its first CIAA Tournament Championship in school history, will compete at noon Friday as a No. 3 seed against No. 6 seed Glenville State University, a public institution in Glenville, West Virginia.
The contest will be held in the Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex on the campus of Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) and represents the first time WSSU’s women will compete in the NCAA Tournament.
“It is a blessing to be able to move forward to the NCAA Tournament and continue playing basketball during March Madness,” said Lady Rams Head Coach Tierra Terry. “We are looking forward to competing and representing Winston-Salem State at the national level. Thank you, Ram Nation, for your continued support.”
Just before 11 p.m. Sunday, members of the Lady Rams basketball team were all smiles as some of them whipped out their cell phones to snap pictures of the school’s name on the television screen during Selection Sunday. Many clapped during the historic moment.
Before the 64 teams were announced, Terry spoke at the “Watch Party,” which WSSU’s Athletics Department livestreamed.
“We’d like to thank everyone for your continued support throughout the year,” Terry said. “As always, we’d like to thank God for even putting us in this position. A lot of countless hours. A lot of work from this team. A lot of sacrifice and dedication got us here today, so we’re super excited to see who we play and where we play, and just excited to go make some noise and shock the world. We appreciate you guys.”
Breonna Roaf, a freshman point guard from Fayetteville who contributed 7 points in the Lady Rams’ CIAA Tournament semifinal win against Claflin University, said March 9 she and her teammates can’t wait to compete in the NCAA Tournament.
“Thank you to everybody that has supported us on this journey,” Roaf said. “We’re very excited to continue the season and play hard to bring a national championship home.”
