Lady Texans ride five-game winning streak to regional
tourney
by John Stewart, staff writer
The South Plains College women’s
basketball team make their way into the postseason on a
five-game winning streak.
The Lady Texans currently rank 21st
in the latest NJCAA polls, and are heading to the NJCAA
Region 5 tournament after defeating New Mexico Junior
College 53-37 at Texan Dome. Te tournament will be held
March 7-10 at Rip Griffin Center on the campus of Lubbock
Christian University.
Against NMJC, the two teams battled in
the first half with each team exchanging buckets several
times. The biggest lead of the first half was five points,
and that was within the first five minutes of the game. New
Mexico’s Dominique Haywood hit a 3-pointer to finish off the
first half and head into the locker room with the Lady
Texans leading by a score of 20-19.
In the opening seconds of the second
half, NMJC’s Janisha Young scored a field goal to put the
Lady Thunderbirds up by one. But that would be the last time
they led, as the Lady Texans went on an 11-0 scoring run
during the next three minutes, building a 31-21 advantage.
After the Lady Thunderbirds pulled back
within seven, SPC went on a 14-6 scoring run to lead 45-30.
SPC led by as many as 19 points before settling for a
16-point victory.
Following the game, the Lady Texans
honored their sophomores, who played in their final game at
Texan Dome. During a two-year span, the Lady Texan
sophomores had 50 wins and 10 losses. The sophomores include
McKinsie East, Briana Goss, Rachel Gray, Lindsey Lawless,
and Chasity Workman, all of whom were on the team for their
NJCAA Championship last year.
The Lady Texans defeated the Howard
College Lady Hawks, 53-51, on Feb. 23.
The first half had a seesaw pattern to
it, with each team exchanging leads several times. SPC led
13-8 midway through the half, but two 5-0 scoring runs, with
a bucket by SPC in between the two, put Howard ahead 18-15.
After SPC grabbed the lead one more
time before the half at 21-20 with a little more than a
minute left, Lady Hawks guard Patricia Malouff scored with
only two seconds remaining on the clock to put Howard
College up by one point going into the locker room.
The Lady Hawks jumped out in front of
SPC, taking a nine-point lead five minutes into the second
half. With just under 14 minutes left in the contest, the
Lady Texans trailed by 11 points, their biggest deficit of
the game.
However, Dayon Hall-Jones wouldn’t let
the Lady Texans fall that easy. Led by her seven points, SPC
went on an 11-2 run to pull back within two points. The
teams continued to trade buckets until the Lady Texans
pulled within one point with 4:32 left in regulation play.
Soon after, Samiesha Williams gave SPC its first lead of the
second half.
After another score from Hall-Jones,
the lead grew to three, but Howard was not finished. The
Lady Hawks reclaimed the lead with 1:45 remaining, and kept
that lead for the next 90 seconds. Workman then converted a
layup off a loose ball in the process of getting fouled for
a three-point opportunity, which she also converted to make
the score 53-51. The Lady Hawks ran down the court and
missed a shot with three seconds remaining.
Hall-Jones tallied 21 points on 9-of-13
shooting from the floor, while Workman contributed a
double-double with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting, to go
along with her 13 rebounds and four steals.
On Feb. 19, the Lady Texans held off
Frank Phillips College, 63-58, in Borger.
The Lady Texans got off to a quick
start, opening up a 20-8 lead in the first 13 minutes of the
game. But SPC slowed down, and the Lady Plainsmen went on a
run of their own to go into halftime with the score tied
25-25.
SPC jumped out to a six-point lead five
minutes into the second half to make the score 33-27. But it
seemed that every time the Lady Texans would start to build
a lead, Howard College would answer it.
Off a 6-0 scoring run, Howard College
retied the game and soon after took their first lead of the
game after a made free throw. It did not last long, as
Tasheena Byrd put the Lady Texans up again on a 3-pointer
with 11:34 remaining in the game.
After a 6-0 run by SPC, Frank Phillips
pulled back within three at 39-36 but SPC went on a 16-9 run
during the next seven minutes to increase their lead to 10
points with only 2:57 left in regulation play.
Again, the Lady Plainsmen clawed their
way back, going on a 7-0 run to pull back within three
points with just one minute left. It was too late though,
Frank Phillips was forced to foul the Lady Texans, and SPC
converted free throws down the stretch to hold on for a
victory.
Sajoyia Griffin led the Lady Texans 12
points, a season-high 17 rebounds, and seven assists.
Taniqua Ards added 13 points, while Hall-Jones, Gray, Byrd
and Workman each scored eight points.
The Lady Texans were to compete in the
first round of the Region 5 tournament at noon on March 7 at
Lubbock Christian University. Results were not available at
press time.
Photo by Ashley Neal/Plainsman Press
