March 6, 2004

Box Score

The 18th-ranked Angelo State University Rambelles won their second Lone Star Conference crown in three years by knocking off defending champion Northeastern State University, 78-63, Saturday night at the WTAMU Event Center.

ASU's Natalja Tsurbakova netted 25 points in the second half, finishing the night with a game-high 27 points, while Sharon Ballenger was 8-8 from the field, including 6-6, including 3-3 from 3-point range, for 17 points in the first half. Kelli Anne Goble also opened the game 5-5, missing her first shot with 53 seconds left in the first half, and finished the game with 18 points and dishing out a whopping eight assists.

For her performance Saturday night, and with 17 points and three assists in ASU's 65-59 win over West Texas A&M in the semifinals, Goble received Tournament MVP honors. Goble was joined on the All-Tournament team by teammates Ballenger and Tsurbakova. NSU's Rikki Hall and Jenna Miller also received All-Tournament honors, as well as WTAMU's Celeste Stevenson and Abilene Christian's Melanie Carter.

NSU was led by Miller's 21 points off the bench, while Hall and Emily Eaves added 12 points apiece for the Lady Reds, who are now 23-7 overall, after winning the LSC North.

ASU improved to 26-4, winning their sixth-straight contest.

The Rambelles earn the LSC's automatic berth in the NCAA-II South Central Regional Tournament, while both WTAMU and NSU are expected to recieve spots in the eight-team tournament, as WTAMU was No. 4 and NSU No. 8 in this week's rankings. The Tournament field will be announced Sunday night at 9:30 p.m. on College Sports Television.

-WT-