Women’s Hoops Primed For Regional Tourney Matchup With Roxbury

BROCKTON, Mass. ---- The Massasoit women's basketball team will get a fourth crack at the nationally ranked Roxbury Tigers, as the two teams meet in the Region 21 Tournament semifinals on Saturday at 11 AM on the campus of Massasoit.

The Warriors have dropped the three previous meetings with No. 3-ranked Tigers, most recently in the MCCAC State Championship game last weekend.

The other semifinal matchup features a pair of Connecticut schools in Gateway CC and UConn-Avery Point, set to play at 1 PM.

The Region 21 Championship game is slated for Sunday at 12 PM at Massasoit.

Below is a breakdown of the four tournament teams:

ROXBURY (21-2, 13-0)

HOW THE TIGERS GOT HERE: The reigning NJCAA National Champions and No.3 ranked nationally Roxbury Tigers have been a juggernaut yet again in 2016-17. The Tigers have won 46 consecutive games against divisional opponents within Region 21 and have appeared in the last eight Region 21 Championships, winning six of them.

>> Head coach Mark Leszcyk features the highest scoring offense in the NJCAA, pouring in 95.2 ppg as a team. Defensively the Tigers are as equally has tenacious, averaging 16.6 steals per game, third best in the NJCAA.

>> Roxbury's roster goes nine deep, with all nine averaging 7.7 or more points. Brooklin Davis tops the team at 17.5ppg, followed by Charee Osborne at 15.5ppg.

>> Breonna Pinkcett is the lone player from last season's National Championship squad. The sophomore forward is a do-everything player, averaging 8.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks per game.

Player to Watch: Charee Osborne, C (15.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg)

GATEWAY (15-4, 11-2)

HOW THE LIONS GOT HERE: Another high-powered offense, the Lions cruised through the region with its lone blemishes being a pair of close losses to Roxbury. Gateway ranks No. 7 in the most recent NJCAA poll and looking to make its second straight trip to the finals.

>> Gateway trails only Roxbury in PPG in the nation, netting 88.9ppg. The Lions offense features three players that average 20-plus points in Tiarrah Thompson (22.6), Katrina Depugh (22.5) and Dejah Lanier (20.5).

>> The Lions defense is also quite stout, holding opponents to only 51.9 ppg. Gateway also ranks third in the nation in rebounds per game (52.0), led by Tiarrah Thompson's 17.2 rpg.

>> Gateway went 4-2 vs. the tournament field, with the lone two losses vs. Roxbury.

Player to Watch: Tiarrah Thompson, C (22.6 ppg, 17.2 rpg).

UCAP (12-10, 8-5)

HOW THE POINTERS GOT HERE: UCAP's season has been up-and-down, starting with three losses, followed eight straight wins and eventually finishing 12-10 on the season. The Pointers are another team that has no issue scoring on the offense end, ranking fifth in the NJCAA in ppg at 79.3. Region 21 features three of the top five scoring offenses.

>> UCAP features one of the most electric players in the region in guard Tatyanna LaFrance-Boyce. A natural scorer, LaFrance-Boyce ranks second in the nation averaging 29.7 ppg, posting four games of 40-plus points. She also gets after it on the defensive end, leading the NJCAA in steals per game (5.7).

>> Guard Meagan Bianchi is another offensive weapon for the Pointers, scoring 20 ppg and shooting an efficient 50.5 percent from the field.

>> UCAP went 1-5 against tournament opponents and owned the tiebreaker over Massasoit for the No. 3 spot in the tourney due to a regular season victory over CCRI.

Player to Watch: Tatyanna LaFrance-Boyce, G (29.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 5.7 spg)

MASSASOIT (11-10, 8-5)

HOW THE WARRIORS GOT HERE: Massasoit features a very balanced team and ranks No. 18 in the nation in scoring at 70.9 per game. Under first year head coach Colie Trawick, the Warriors finished 8-5 in the league, the most region victories since 2013-14.

>> The Warriors offense lists five players who average 10-or-more points, led by sophomore backcourt combo of Tati Dias and Geornaisha Silva-Moore. Dias and Silva-Moore combined to average 25.4 ppg. Freshman Monica Knight has been a post presence, averaging 12.5 points and 12.2 rebounds per game.

>> Massasoit went 1-6 against the tournament field, the lone win vs. UCAP at home, and fell to Roxbury on three occasions including in the MCCAC State Championship last weekend.

Player to Watch: Tati Dias, G (12.8 ppg, 5.2 apg)