Brawl On Court at Women's Basketball Game

Who says women’s sports aren’t physical?

A women’s basketball game between Southern University and Texas Southern on Saturday was more than just physical. With 12:36 left in the game, it turned violent.

A physical play on the court led to a bench-clearing, all-out brawl between the teams. Following a steal by Southern, a Texas Southern player drew a charge call on a hard foul. Players did not like how the play went down and 15 women were involved in subsequent fisticuffs.

After the fight was tampered down, the officials ruled the game a double forfeit. Southern was awarded the win because the team was up 51-49 at the time play stopped.

After the brawl, the NCAA issued suspensions for all 15 players involved in the fight. The teams had their own penalties for their players. Texas Southern withdrew from the conference tournament, despite being the top seed. “After deliberate consultation and review with our conference office regarding the incident that transpired on March 7, 2015, we’ve come to the decision that our women’s basketball team will not participate in the upcoming 2015 SWAC Women’s Basketball Tournament, as we would not be able to successfully field a competitive team due to the number of suspensions,” a team spokesperson said in an official statement. Southern came down hard on its players, even dismissing one player from the team altogether.

Competitive basketball can get ugly.