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TWU
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Life > Athletics > Basketball > 3/1/08
#16 WTAMU OUTLASTS TWU 66-63
Box Score
 DENTON, Texas (March 1) – West Texas A&M University junior guard Jamie Dreiling scored 13 of her game-high 20 points in the second half to help the Lady Buffs to a dramatic 66-63 win over the Texas Woman’s University Pioneers on Saturday afternoon at Kitty Magee Arena in Denton.
Dreiling, a transfer from the University of Tulsa, was especially effective in the waning moments of the game for WTAMU, the 16 th ranked team in this week’s USA Today/ESPN NCAA Division II Top 25 Coach’s Poll. After two free throws by TWU sophomore guard Jessica Durr gave the Pioneers a 55-53 lead with 4:54 left regulation, Dreiling scored six of the Lady Buffs next ten points on driving layups to put the visitors back on top 63-59 with just 1:46 remaining on the clock.
The Pioneers refused to fold, and a pull up jumper by sophomore guard Keshia Bolds brought the home team to within a point, 64-63, with 54 seconds to play. After WTAMU failed to score on their ensuing possession, TWU had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead with the clock winding down. The Pioneers, however, could not get a shot off, as WTAMU junior guard Courtney Lee stepped in front of a pass in the paint intended for TWU junior post player Renee Renz.
After a WTAMU timeout, Durr was whistled for an intentional foul as the Lady Buffs were trying to inbound the ball. WTAMU junior guard Chelsea Blackshear knocked down both free throws to push the Lady Buffs’ advantage to 66-63. Blackshear then had a chance to seal the game for WTAMU after another TWU foul, but she missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw situation. TWU grabbed the rebound and rushed up the court in a last-ditch effort to force overtime. Unfortunately, a hurried jumper by Bolds was off the mark, dashing the Pioneers’ hopes for an upset win in the final 2007-08 regular season game for both teams.
The narrow loss snapped a season-high four-game winning streak for the Pioneers (12-15, 7-7 LSC South) and spoiled their hopes of earning a berth in next week’s 2008 Lone Star Conference Championship postseason basketball tournament in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. With a win over WTAMU, and a Tarleton State loss at Angelo State on Saturday night, the Pioneers would have qualified for the eight-team tournament for the seventh time in the history of the program. WTAMU (23-4, 13-1 LSC South) is the LSC South Division regular season champ and will be the top-seed in the tournament.
“I’m so proud of this team,” said TWU head coach Beth Jillson after the game. “We played so hard, not only today, but for the entire last month of the season, to try and make it into the conference tournament. The heart and the will that these players showed was something special. We came up a little bit short, but it certainly wasn’t because of a lack of effort or determination.”
Renz (pictured) was the top player in the loss for TWU, recording her eleventh double-double of the season with a Pioneer team-high 19 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. Durr (16 points) and Bolds (11 points) also made major contributions to the TWU offensive attack in the game.
WTAMU also received an effective performance from junior guard Emily Brister. The two-time (2005-2006 and 2006-07) Lone Star Conference South Division player of the year totaled 15 points and 13 rebounds, and in the process, became the first-ever Lady Buff player to score 2,000 career points (2,008).
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