Brawl At Sun Belt Women's Tournament Leads To Eight Ejections, Four Suspensions, Ref Knocked To Ground

Eight players were ejected and a referee was knocked to nan floor, requiring aesculapian attention, aft a brawl collapsed out during South Alabama’s 80-70 triumph against Coastal Carolina successful a Sun Belt Conference women’s hoops tourney crippled Wednesday successful Pensacola, Fla.

Coastal Carolina guardant Tracey Hueston has been suspended by nan convention for nan remainder of nan postseason. South Alabama’s Cordasia Harris, Amyah Sutton and Daniela Gonzalez each received a one-game suspension.

The incident started during a extremity successful action pinch 5:39 remaining successful nan 4th fourth erstwhile Harris appeared to bump into Hueston from down underneath nan basket. Hueston turned and took a plaything astatine Harris, and others rushed successful to abstracted nan players.

Hueston took different plaything and appeared to inadvertently deed referee Marla Gearhar pinch a forearm to nan caput aliases cervix area. Gearhar was knocked to nan level and remained connected her backmost until aggregate unit members and a aesculapian master were capable to be to her.

The convention later announced that Gearhar “was evaluated by aesculapian unit astatine nan Pensacola Bay Center and was released.”

A double method foul was called connected Hueston and Harris. They were ejected from nan game, on pinch South Alabama’s Sutton, Gonzalez, Terren Coffil, Saneea Bevley, Princess Okafor Nweze and Jeriyah Baines.

“It’s unfortunate we had nan incident pinch South Al today. I cognize Tracey Hueston regrets that,” Coastal Carolina coach Kevin Pederson said aft nan game. “She’s an unthinkable exemplary national disconnected nan level and she knows she can’t enactment that way. That was highly frustrating for everybody, surely thing we don’t o.k. of successful this program. It’s thing you want to see.”

South Alabama diversion head Joel Erdmann said in a statement that while “the incident that took spot during Wednesday’s crippled is highly unfortunate and unacceptable,” he does not judge Harris, Sutton and Gonzalez were deserving of suspensions.

“After an extended soul review, I do not judge nan actions of each 3 of our student-athletes roseate to nan level of being classified arsenic fighting arsenic defined by nan NCAA norm book,” Erdmann said. “This judgement has negatively impacted nan tourney acquisition of our suspended student-athletes and stripped them of constricted opportunities to compete successful nan postseason.

“Though I powerfully disagree pinch nan judgement of nan officials, we will judge nan determination from nan Sun Belt Conference and move our attraction to supporting coach [Yolisha] Jackson and her squad successful [Thursday’s] tourney crippled against Texas State.”