Who is Tommi Paris? What happened to the NCAA game official during NC State vs Chattanooga matchup?

Game official Tommi Paris was replaced during the NCAA women's tournament first-round clash between North Carolina State and Chattanooga on Saturday.

Paris was subbed out after the first half due to a "background conflict."

"There was a switch of game officials at halftime of the Chattanooga-NC State first-round game because it was learned after the game had started that Umpire 2 Tommi Paris had a background conflict that, if known, would prevent her from working that assigned game," the NCAA said in a statement.

Angelica Suffren replaced Paris at the start of the second half, with the Lady Wolfpack ahead, 26-17.

Suffren, who worked in an earlier matchup, was inserted into the referees' lineup due to her on-court experience and to ensure that the game has a full officiating crew plus standby, the NCAA added.

Danielle Jackson was the standby referee for the match.

---

Tommi Paris earns master's degree from Chattanooga

According to Paris' LinkedIn profile, she earned a master's degree from Chattanooga and the NCAA requires all game officials to reveal their school affiliations to prevent conflicts.

Paris, who played for Furman in college, was from Chattanooga and has worked as a game official for 10 years.

"They literally just ... got me in the locker room and said they were making a change. I don't know what happened.

"I didn't see anything specific. Maybe the second time in my career that's happened. But the other one there was an injury, so you knew. But this one, I'm not really sure," Poppie said.

The Chattanooga coach was penalized for a technical foul in the fourth quarter, with the Lady Mocs behind 50-28. He also criticized the decision to replace Paris with Suffren, believing that Jackson should serve as the referee instead of Suffren.

NC State went on to win the match, 64-45. Azaiha James led the Wolfpack's offense with 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field, including 5-of-10 from the 3-point area.

Saniya Rivers added 16 markers, eight rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block. River Baldwin finished with a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Jada Guinn led Chattanooga with 13 points and Raven Thompson added 11.

The Lady Wolfpack will face the Tennessee Lady Volunteers in the second round on Monday.