Lady Texans Gaining Momentum for Postseason Run

 Jerry Thomas, staff writer

The South Plains College Lady Women’s basketball team will not be able to repeat as Western Junior College Athletic Conference champions this season.  But that does not have to stop the Lady Texans from accomplishing their more important goals- the postseason.

“ Not winning conference is not that big of a disappointment because we have bigger goals in mind in doing well in the Region V tourney, said SPC point guard Fallon Thomas.”  “ We plan to go as far as we can go, and I feel like we have a good shot at doing just that.”

The Lady Texans (22-5 overall, 8-3 WJCAC play) will finish in second place in the conference behind Odessa College, which defeated SPC twice this season.

The Lady Texans picked up play following the loss to Odessa by defeating Frank Phillips at home 71-46 on Feb. 16.  Dominic Seals led SPC with 20 points and 13 rebounds.  The 6-foot-2 freshman post recorded her 12^th double-double of the season.  SPC forced 29 turnovers and held Frank Phillips to 29.6 percent shooting in the game.  Brooke DeGrate and Alana Rumph each added 13 points for the Lady Texans, while Alex Velazquez chipped in 11.

SPC then destroyed Clarendon College 83-48 on the road on Feb. 20, picking up their 20^th win of the season.  Seals led SPC with 19 points and chipped in with four rebounds and three steals.  DeGrate added 14 points and five steals, while Velazquez scored 12.  Thomas contributed an impressive 10 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, three blocks, and seven steals.  Rumph also chipped in 10 points, five assists, and three steals.  The Lady Texans continued the excellent defensive play, forcing Clarendon into 29 turnovers.

South Plains returned home and then cruised to a victory against Howard College 62-41 on Feb. 23.  The game was deadlocked at 24 at halftime, but then the Lady Texans picked up defensive pressure in the second half for the blowout win.  Seals led SPC with 16 points and 15 rebounds.  Thomas also scored 16 points and added 10 rebounds and five assists.  DeGrate also chipped in 12 points and 5 assists.

South Plains then returned on the road rallying to defeat New Mexico Junior College 72-64 on Feb. 27 in Hobbs.  The Lady Texans trailed 49-42 with 11:56 remaining in the game, but then went on an 11-0 run to seal the win.  The Lady Texans were led by Seals with 26 points, while DeGrate and Velazquez each added 11.  Rumph scored 10 while Thomas finished with nine points and 12 assists. 

The Lady Texans finished up the regular season on Thursday March 2, by hosting Midland College.  However, results of that game were not available at press time.  SPC finished second in the WJCAA, qualifying for the Region V tournament, which will be held March 10-12 at the Rip Griffin Center on the campus of Lubbock Christian University.