Women's basketball team faces Hillsborough CC Thursday in quarterfinals

The Eastern Florida State College women's basketball team will open the FCSAA Women's Basketball Championship on Thursday afternoon at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville.

The Titans come into the tournament as the No. 3 seed and on a 25-game win streak. They will open against No. 6 seed Hillsborough Community College at 4 p.m. EDT in a quarterfinal game.

Eastern Florida State College has a seven-game win streak against Hillsborough Community College including all three meetings this season.

"Facing Hillsborough for the fourth time definitely brings its own set of challenges, as they become more familiar with our strategies and tendencies," Eastern Florida State College women's basketball coach MJ Baker said. "However, it also gives us the opportunity to refine our game plan and adjust accordingly."

The Hawks come into the tournament 17-13 on the season and are led by Masiel Reyes who led Region 8 in scoring this season, averaging 22.6 points per game. Reyes had 15 points against the Titans in the meeting on March 2, a 96-78 Titans win.

Eastern Florida State College is led by a couple of players named to the All-FCSAA Team on Wednesday. FCSAA Player of the Year Amelia Hassett enters the tournament averaging 19.9 points and 12.7 rebounds per game this season. Teammate and All-FCSAA player Kristiana Kulackovska is averaging 8.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

The Titans enter the week as the defending champions of the tournament.

"As defending Region VIII champs and with another unbeaten conference season under our belt, there's definitely a sense of confidence heading into the week," Baker said. "But we also know that every game is a new challenge and we're focused on staying disciplined, playing our game and giving it our all to defend our title."

Tickets for Thursday's quarterfinal game at Northwest Florida State College can be purchased at the door for $15. You can watch the games live online here.