DeLAND, Fla. - The Stetson University women's basketball team will be hosting an ASUN postseason game as they locked in the #2 seed in the tournament following their 55-51 win over the Jacksonville Dolphins at the Edmunds Center on Thursday night. The Hatters now hold a 16-13 record and an 11-4 record in ASUN play, their second time in three years reaching 11+ conference wins. The game featured seven lead changes as graduate forward Quentarra Mitchell put back make with 37 seconds left and Skylar Treadwell's last second free throw secured the win.

"I thought it was a great battle, a great defensive battle, both teams guarded really well," said Head Coach Lynn Bria. "I would've never thought we'd be the #2 seed, I will tell you that. How we're playing now is not how we originally started to play so we just had to reinvent ourselves a little bit."

Jamiya Turner paced the Hatters in the victory with 14 points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field while going eight for nine from the line. She has now reached double-figures in 19 games this season and has pulled in five or more rebounds on 18 occasions, after grabbing five boards against the Dolphins.

Khamya McNeal finished with nine points, five rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. She was the lone Hatter to hit a three-pointer in the winning effort as the redshirt-junior guard drained two of them in the fourth quarter.

Mitchell provided 12 points and a team-leading eight rebounds off the bench, her 14th game with five or more rebounds. The graduate pulled in an offensive rebound with 37 seconds left in the game before finishing the layup to push the Hatters ahead by four points. A three-pointer by the Dolphins would cut the lead down to one before Turner buried a pair of clutch free throws. The Hatters would then stifle the Dolphins comeback attempt as Treadwell would hit the dagger free throw to ultimately clinch it.

As a team, Stetson was outshot by Jacksonville as the Dolphins went 17-of-44 from the floor (38.6 %) while the Hatters shot 17-of-57 (29.8%). Stetson won the battle in the paint, however, scoring 26 of their points below the basket. Five different Hatters pulled in five or more rebounds as Stetson outrebounded Jacksonville 39-33. They forced the Dolphins into 21 turnovers, ten of which came from steals, while converting them in 11 points on the other end.

"I said we're not going to out-offense anybody so we're either going to guard and rebound or we're going to get blown out and our kids have really bought into it," said Bria.

The Hatters will finish the 2024 regular season by hosting the North Florida Ospreys for senior day. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 2:00 PM on Saturday, March 2 at the Edmunds Center. All the action will be streamed on ESPN+ while live stats will be available at gohatters.com.

Following Saturday's games, the Hatters will get a clearer picture of the postseason bracket. As it stands, Stetson will receive a first round bye before facing the winner of the #7 vs. #8 game in the Quarterfinals on Saturday, March 9.

About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit GoHatters.com/HATS.

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