Sun Belt suspends four in tournament brawl fallout

Field Level Media|published: Thu 5th March, 12:07 2026

Nov 18, 2025; Syracuse, New York, USA; General view of a ball going through the net prior to the game between the Monmouth Hawks and the Syracuse Orange at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

The Sun Belt Conference suspended four players involved in a fight that interrupted a second-round game in the postseason conference tournament.

South Alabama and Coastal Carolina had less than six minutes on the clock of the 80-70 South Alabama win when tempers flared.

The skirmish started when South Alabama's Cordasia Harris bumped Tracey Hueston, who responded by pushing Harris and swinging her firsts.

Caught in the middle of the fracas, referee Marla Gearhar fell to the floor and stayed on her back as she was attended to on the court by medical personnel. She would be cleared to continue the game.

Eight players were ejected for participating in the fight.

Coastal Carolina's Hueston was suspended for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, should the school appear in any postseason games. With a 14-18 record, that is unlikely.

South Alabama's Harris, Amyah Sutton and Daniela Gonzalez all received one-game suspensions. The Jaguars play North Texas at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday.

"It's unfortunate we had the incident with South (Alabama) today," Coastal Carolina coach Kevin Pederson said after the game. "I know Tracey Hueston regrets that. She's an incredible model citizen off the floor and she knows she can't act that way. That was extremely frustrating for everybody, certainly something we don't approve of in this program. It's nothing you want to see. You hate to see that in your last game."

--Field Level Media

Latest