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SVU Women Repeat
In another historic season for Coach Lynette Schroeder’s squad, the Southern Virginia University women’s basketball team celebrated a USA South Athletic Conference Championship on their home floor for the second consecutive year. The Knights overcame an assertive start from the tournament’s second seed, Brevard College, to win 57-45 and complete an undefeated season against conference opponents.
In the first quarter, Brevard jumped out to an 8-3 lead to quiet the home crowd. However, the Knights (26-2 overall, 16-0 USA South) weathered the storm and scored 14 of the next 17 points to re-take the momentum. Addison Newman had the hot hand early on and was lights out from distance. Camilla Norton added a three before the final buzzer to help the Knights take a 17-11 lead into the second quarter. Aysia Foster was her typical reliable self and grabbed several rebounds to control the boards.
Offense was hard to come by for both teams in the second quarter, but Brevard made another surge to trim the lead to just two points. Once again, the Knights came back to put the Tornados in an even deeper hole. Newman and Abigail Snyder hit back-to-back threes with just over a minute left in the half to send Knight Arena into a frenzy. A mid-range jumper in their final possession gave the Knights their first double-digit advantage, one they would take into halftime, 30-19. Brevard found itself desperately trying to claw back, but the deficit in the first half proved too much. Aysia Foster had two blocks in the second half to lead a stingy Knights defense, giving her five total in the tournament. Both teams committed their fair share of turnovers throughout, and each side managed 14 points off turnovers. In the rebounding battle, Ruth Kempler hauled in several offensive boards, giving her teammates ample opportunities to score. Kempler led both teams with 10 rebounds, with four of them on the offensive end.
By the final buzzer, Newman had been the star of the show, scoring 22 points in a 57-45 victory. For her efforts she was named the tournament’s most valuable player for a historic second year in a row, making her just the second player to accomplish the feat in USA South history. Another notable performance came from Alyssa Weiland – the senior guard also scored in double-figures and tallied six rebounds and three assists.
The Knights reached the finals by coasting to an 83-43 win over William Peace in the quarterfinals on Tuesday of last week and defeating Methodist in the semifinals on Thursday.
Weiland and Foster joined Newman on the 2025 alltournament team, which also featured three members from Brevard. The two teams were the class of the conference all season long and made for several exciting matchups during the season. With their ticket punched to the NCAA Tournament, the Knights were waiting to see the bracket on Monday. For updates, visit knightathletics.com
