Eight players were ejected after a brawl between South Alabama and Coastal Carolina in the second round of the women’s Sun Belt Tournament on Wednesday. The fracas resulted in a referee getting injured and requiring medical attention.
The incident occurred with 5:38 remaining in the fourth quarter as South Alabama’s Cordasia Harris and Coastal Carolina’s Tracey Hueston started fighting under the basket.
Staff members from both schools, teammates and referees rushed to attempt to break up the fight. Among them was referee Marla Gearhart, who caught a flailing arm and was knocked to the floor. She remained on the ground for a moment while the medical staff went over to check on her.
The conference released an update later Wednesday saying Gearhart was evaluated at the Pensacola Bay Center and was released.
Eight players were ejected immediately after the incident:
- South Alabama: Cordasia Harris, Daniela Gonzalez, Terren Coffil, Saneea Bevley, Princess Okafor Nweze, Jeriyah Baines, Amyah Sutton
- Coastal Carolina: Tracey Hueston
South Alabama eventually won the game, 80-70, but will be shorthanded for the third-round game against Texas State on Thursday due to further punishment announced by the Sun Belt. Harris, Sutton and Gonzalez were all hit with one-game NCAA suspensions “because they were deemed to have engaged in a fight,” the conference said.
In a statement, South Alabama athletic director Dr. Joel Erdmann said the university “does not condone fighting under any circumstance.” However, he said he does not agree that the actions of “all three” of Harris, Sutton and Gonzalez “rose to the level of being classified as fighting as defined by the NCAA rule book.”
“This judgment has negatively impacted the tournament experience of our suspended student-athletes and stripped them of limited opportunities to compete in the postseason,” Erdmann said. “Though I strongly disagree with the judgment of the officials, we will accept the decision from the Sun Belt Conference.”
On the Coastal Carolina side, Hueston was given a one-game NCAA suspension and suspended by the Sun Belt for the remainder of the season should the Chanticleers be invited to a postseason tournament.
Coastal Carolina athletic director Chance Miller issued an apology and said “we are extremely disappointed in the actions of one of our women’s basketball student-athletes and program,” per local CBS station WBTW News 13.
Chanticleers coach Kevin Pederson said the incident will be addressed swiftly.
“We regret the actions that took place during today’s Sun Belt Conference Tournament game,” Pederson told the local station. “In no way does what occurred reflect the core values or day-to-day mission of the women’s basketball program, as we hold our student-athletes to the highest standards both on and off the court. The actions today don’t reflect those standards, and we plan to address that quickly.”
