South Alabama Wins Conference Tournament Game Despite Seven Ejections After Wild Fight

The Jaguars prevailed in the second round of the Sun Belt tournament despite a fight in which eight players were ejected, and a referee was punched.

The melee began with 5:40 remaining in the fourth quarter of the second round Sun Belt women's basketball tournament game. | Screengrab Twitter @TheFieldof68

The South Alabama women's basketball team on Wednesday won their second round game in the Sun Belt tournament 80-70 over Coastal Carolina despite a fight breaking out late in the fourth quarter in which seven of their players—and one of Coastal Carolina's—were ejected.

The fracas began with 5:40 remaining in the game when South Alabama forward Cordasia Harris, positioned in the paint near her counterpart, Tracey Hueston of the Chanticleers, had words for the Coastal Carolina forward, who immediately threw a punch that missed Harris and appeared to hit referee Ryan Durham. Referee Marla Gearhart was knocked down in the midst of the scrum, and was laying motionless on the court for a few moments.

Coastal Carolina and South Alabama just got into it in the Sun Belt women's tournament and knocked the referee out cold 😳pic.twitter.com/HM1VDFrORD

— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 4, 2026

Assistant coaches, players and Durham eventually restored order. On the Coastal Carolina side, Hueston was ejected for throwing punches. Meanwhile, seven South Alabama players—including starters Harris, guard Amyah Sutton and forward Daniela Gonzalez—were ejected, according to Creg Stephenson of Al.com.

The ejections left the Jaguars shorthanded for the final five minutes of the contest, giving Coastal Carolina a prime opportunity to work its way back into the game down by nine points. But the Chanticleers were plagued by missed free throws, layups and a failure to convert second-chance points, allowing the Jaguars to ultimately hang on.

South Alabama's upset win, however, may have been a costly one.

South Alabama's ejected players could miss the next game in Sun Belt tournament

According to NCAA rules, players ejected for fighting must generally serve an automatic one-game suspension. That means that Sutton, Harris and Gonzalez, the Jaguars' three leading scorers this season, could miss the team's third round game against Texas State on Thursday.

More word is likely to come from the NCAA on any potential suspensions.

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