First Time in Stetson History: Hatters Capture ASUN Regular Season Title

Women's basketball team

The Stetson Women’s Basketball team plays in the ASUN Tournament Friday, March 3, and takes on USC-Upstate at 7 p.m. in the Edmunds Center. Tickets prices are set by the ASUN and are $5 for Stetson students and youth 3-17, and $10 for faculty/staff/adults. For more information, visit gohatters.com.

Hatters guard Brittney Chambers
Guard Brittney Chambers, No. 30, a junior from Orlando, tossed up a jumper that dropped in as the shot clock expired, winning the game for the Hatters.

Fort Myers. Fla. — Another incredible chapter has been added to the epic women’s basketball saga between Stetson and Florida Gulf Coast, and for the first time in school history, the Hatters are ASUN regular season champions.

Forty minutes were not enough, but Brittney Chambers‘ fade away jumper with 1:14 left in overtime helped lift Stetson to a dramatic 67-64 victory over FGCU Saturday night in front of 3,384 fans at Alico Arena.

The Hatters (24-5, 13-1 ASUN) won their 13th game in a row and clinched home court advantage throughout the ASUN tournament.

“We worked hard all season, so this is what we expected,” Chambers said.  “We work hard every day in practice for this opportunity right here. We put in the work for this.  We earned it.”

Stetson led by five at the break but trailed by three with 3:57 to play in regulation. Baskets by DeAsia Beal and Breana Bey and a free throw by Chambers helped get the game to overtime.

Overall, the game featured seven ties and 10 lead changes.

“I thought no matter how it turned out, it was a great game,” Stetson head coach Lynn Bria said.  “You can’t argue with the fact that it is terrific for our conference to have a game like this and in overtime, and to have a great crowd.”

With the score tied at 58 and under two minutes to play in overtime, Chambers tossed up a long jumper from the right wing that dropped in as the shot clock expired.  That gave Stetson a lead it would not relinquish.

“That shot was huge,” Bria said.  “It was the shot of the game.  It put us up by two and broke the tie.  I thought (Brittney) was the difference in the game.”

Hatters team
The Hatters are ASUN regular season champions.

Chambers finished with a team-high 18 points off the bench, while Sarah Sagerer recorded a 12-point, 18-rebound double-double.  Fifteen of her rebounds came on the defensive end.

The win was the first-ever for Stetson against FGCU in Fort Myers and snapped the Eagles’ 75-game ASUN home court win streak that dated back to 2009.   It was also Stetson’s third overtime win of the year.

“For us, it was more about finally winning the regular season,” Bria said.  “That was really important to us because we have never done that.   I think our players wanted to be regular season champs, because you can’t argue with the body of work.  For Brianti Saunders, that was really important for her.”

“It feels great,” Saunders said.  “I am so excited I almost cried.  We have to stay focused.  It is a great opportunity but it is not the end.”

As the No. 1 seed for the tournament, Stetson will host No. 8 seed USC Upstate at 7 p.m. Friday night in the ASUN quarterfinals.  The Hatters are seeking their first NCAA berth since 2013.