Women's Basketball Opens SSC Tournament in Road Matchup With Mocs

ORLANDO, Fla. - [Bracket] The 44th Sunshine State Conference Women's Basketball Championship tips off on Tuesday, March 3rd. Member institutions will host all tournament games on campus sites and broadcast them on the SSC Digital Network.

The University of Tampa will travel to Lakeland, Fla., for a quarterfinal meeting at Florida Southern. Tuesday's game will tip at 5:30 p.m.

After a competitive regular season battle to be named the SSC conference champion, Eckerd College earned the honor after a 17-3 conference record. This is the Tritons' second regular-season title; their first came during the 2016-17 season. Eckerd has won three SSC Women's Basketball Tournaments, the latest in the 2023-24 season, when it entered as the No. 4 seed. 

Eckerd College (No. 1), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (No. 2), Nova Southeastern University (No. 3), and Florida Southern College (No. 4) will host their respective quarterfinal games. Other qualifying teams include: No. 5 University of Tampa, No. 6 Palm Beach Atlantic University, No. 7 Lynn University, and No. 8 Florida Tech.

The 2025-26 Sunshine State Conference Women's Basketball Championship will be played at home sites, with the higher seeds hosting each contest. Quarterfinals will take place on Tuesday, March 3rd; Semifinals on Thursday, March 5th; and the Championship Final on Sunday, March 8th.  

The SSC champion will receive automatic qualification to the 2026 NCAA Division II Championships. Regional competition will take place at a non-predetermined site beginning on Friday, March 13th. Elite Eight play will take place Tuesday, March 24th to Saturday, March 28th at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The NCAA will announce championship selections and seeding on Sunday, March 8th.