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TWU
Home > Student
Life > Athletics > Basketball > 2002-03
News > March 1
PIONEER BASKETBALL
EARNS FIRST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT BERTH SINCE 1996 WITH
UPSET WIN
SAN
ANGELO, TX—Down as much as 15 points in the
second half, Texas Woman's University (11-15, 7-7 LSC) used
a 43.9 field goal percentage to claw their way back and defeat
the No. 10 ranked team in Division II, Angelo State
(24-3, 12-2 LSC), 76-75. With the win, the Pioneers wrap
up fourth place in LSC South Division due to a series sweep
over Abilene Christian University and make their first appearance
in the conference tournament since the 1995-96 season. They
will face Lone Star Conference North Division Champion Northeastern
State on Tuesday, March 4. The loss ended a five
game losing streak to the Rambelles and also ended ASU's 11-game
home winning streak.
“All of our players came together as a team and hit some
big shots at key times during the game. The team came out of
halftime with a new attitude and they played with aggressiveness
and focus to win the game,” head coach Devin Gabbard said. “Tiesha
Wady played a tremendous game in the low post, scoring 21 points
despite being double-teamed most of the night. Jessica Springer
did another great job on the boards and gave us the advantage
in the game.”
Angelo State opened the game up with a small 2-6 lead after
two minutes of play, but the Pioneers kept the game close and
tied the contest at 16 apiece when Lacey Pemberton (Hawkins,
TX/Paris J.C.) nailed a three pointer at the 11:40 mark. Daphne
Lyons (Flower Mound, TX/Louisiana-Monroe) gave TWU its
first lead of the game when she hit a short jumper less than
a minute later. The Rambelles' Kelli Anne Goble hit a three-pointer
of her own to give ASU back the lead, 22-18. Angelo State slowly
pulled away for the rest of the period and took a 31-41 lead
into halftime. The Rambelles shot 50% from the field and out-rebounded
TWU 22-16 to take the advantage.
After ASU had built a 15-point lead with 14 minutes left in
the game, the Pioneers went on a 14-0 run to close the gap
to one point, 53-54. Tammara Ringer pushed the Rambelles' lead
to 56-61 with 7:38 on the clock after she made a layup and
converted the free-throw attempt from a LaTonya Johnson
(Paris, TX/Paris J.C.) foul. With the score sitting at
60-63, Tiesha Wady (Cooper, TX/Tyler J.C.) scored
the Pioneers next 12 points in a five-minute span to give TWU
its second lead of the game, 72-70 with 1:58 left. The game
would be tied two more times during the next minute before Jessica
Springer (Kirbyville, TX/Blinn College) hit a layup and
converted a free throw to put the Pioneers in front, 75-74.
Springer was fouled again with 14 seconds left and put one
more point on the board. ASU's Esponosha Gilliam had a chance
to tie the game with two free throws, but she only sank one
and time expired off of the rebound to give TWU their 76-75
win.
The Pioneers finished the game hitting 21 of 40 field goal
attempts (43.9%), four of 17 from beyond the arc (23.5%) and
22 of 36 (61.1%) from the stripe. Tiesha Wady finished with
a game and season-high 21 points to go along with five rebounds
while Jessica Springer recorded her fifth double-double of
the season with 13 points and a game-high 10 boards. Keshun
Irving (Karnack, TX/Tyler J.C.) also chipped in with
14 points, five boards and five assists. Angelo State had four
players in double figures with Megan Clift leading the way
with 16 points.
Next
up, the Pioneers travel to Tahlequah, Okla., to face the
No. 1 seed from the LSC North Division, Northeastern State,
in the quarterfinals of the LSC Women's Basketball Tournament.
The game will be held on Tuesday, March 4 with
a start time to be determined. TWU lost its only meeting with
the Lady Reds this season, 53-81, at NSU.
Other pairings
in the LSC Women's Tournament include Angelo State (#1 South)
hosting Southwestern Oklahoma State (#4 North),
Midwestern State (#2 South) hosting East Central (#3 North)
and Central Oklahoma (#2 North) hosting West Texas A&M
(#3 South). If TWU wins on Tuesday, they will play the winner
of the Midwestern St./East Central match-up on Friday, March
7. The semifinals and final will be played at the highest seed
left in the tournament from the North Division.
--www.twuathletics.com--
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