Eagles pick up tournament win, advance to quarterfinals

CEDAR BLUFF, Va. — Wake Tech women's basketball (6-22, 2-18) defeated No. 6 seed Southwest Virginia (11-14, 10-10) 82-69 on Monday night in the first round of the Region 10 Division II Tournament, securing a quarterfinal matchup against the No. 3 seed Cleveland (22-6, 16-4) on Thursday evening in Hickory. Just days after Southwest Virginia picked up a 49-35 win in a defensive showdown, shots started falling again for the Eagles. Sophomore guard Tanzania Locklear led the team with 20 points. 

82 points is the highest total for Wake Tech since an 83-63 win over Barton College JV on December 1. 

The Eagles have now won two of their last three games. 

Next up is a third matchup with No. 3 seed Cleveland, who is ranked 21st nationally. While the first game against the Yetis was a lopsided affair at home, the return game at Cleveland was much tighter. The Eagles trailed 40-36 at the break, and lost the game by just 11 points, with a final score of 74-63. To pull off another upset in the tournament, Wake Tech will need to continue shooting the ball the way they did in Cedar Bluff on Monday. The Yetis lead Region 10 DII with 76 points per game. 

The remainder of the tournament will be played at the Tarlton Complex at Catawba Valley Community College. The Tarlton Complex is also the site of the NJCAA Division II Championship, which the winner of this tournament gets an automatic berth for.