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March 8, 2009

Box Score

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. -West Texas A&M battled the North number one seeded, Central Oklahoma in the final of the Lone Star Conference Championship and came out on top, 66-59, Saturday night at the Bruin Field House in Bartlesville, Okla. The win earned the Lady Buffs their second of back-to-back LSC Championship titles.

The win lifts WTAMU to 25-5 overall, while Central Oklahoma finishes the tournament with a matching 25-5 overall record. The Lady Buffs are still currently ranked atop the NCAA South Central rankings.

UCO controlled the tip and got a quick two points. Courtney Lee (senior, guard, Arlington, Texas) immediately followed with a jumper at the free throw line. Jamie Dreiling (senior, forward, Lake Kiowa, Texas) and Holly Isaacs (junior, guard, Brownfield, Texas) hit early three's to put WT up by three points at the first media. A steal and fast break layup by Dreiling kept the momentum going.

At the 11:00 mark, the Bronchos started to come back, hitting two threes and a jumper, while WT struggled to get a shot. Lee hit a layup with time expiring on the shot clock, then Joni Unruh (sophomore, guard, Amarillo, Texas) took a charge to return the ball to the Lady Buffs. Megan McLain (sophomore, guard, Channing, Texas) hit a three from the corner to give the team an eight point lead. WT finished the half with a four point lead over UCO, and a score of 36-32.

Leading the Lady Buffs in scoring in the first half was Lee with 13 points, followed by Dreiling with seven points. Dreiling, Lee, and Unruh each pulled down two rebounds. Dixie Bell (senior, guard, Canyon, Texas) tallied three assists in the first half. The team shot 45.2 percent from the field.

For UCO, Ashley Beckley tallied 10 points, followed by Cristina Yarbrough with nine and Mallory Markus with eight. Lizzie Brenner pulled down four rebounds in the first half. The Bronchos shot 56.5 percent in the first half, and had 14 turnovers, with eight coming from Lady Buff steals.

Unruh started the scoring in the second half with a layup. A missed UCO shot, led to a layup attempt by Dreiling and a foul on UCO's Beckley. Dreiling hit a layup and a three, and Lee made a jumper from the short corner to give WT their largest lead of the game of 14 points at the 16:52 mark. The Bronchos did not score until almost four minutes into the half.

Despite some setbacks on the defensive end of the court with fouls, at the 10:29 mark, UCO had only made three field goals. Ashley Leven (freshman, forward, Amarillo, Texas) tallied a three-point play, sinking a jumper at the top of the key. Central Oklahoma went on a 9-1 run to cut the Lady Buffs' lead to six points. A Dreiling layup followed by a UCO bucket kept the margin at six points with 3:17 left in the game. Lee drained a three to put the Lady Buffs up by seven. UCO put it two free throws, but it wasn't enough as Dreiling drew a foul and sank her free throws seal the win for the Lady Buffs.

"Wow, what a great game," said head coach Krista Gerlich. "I'm so proud of this group of young ladies. We knew coming in that UCO was a great basketball team, and they certainly didn't leave any disappointment."

"Our seniors stepped up huge tonight," Gerlich said. "Jamie had another double-double, Courtney's three at the end was clutch, Dixie did a good job of handling the pressure and getting us going, and Emily has been our leader and confidence-builder and is just as much a part of this as anyone."

Dreiling finished the game with her ninth double-double of the season, 23 points and 13 rebounds. Lee followed with 18 points. The team shot 42.1 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from behind the arc.

Courtney Lee was named to the LSC all-tournament team and Jamie Dreiling was named the tournament MVP. 

The NCAA selection show will be on Sunday, March 8, 2009, at www.ncaa.com. The women's Division II NCAA selection show will begin at 8:00 p.m. CDT, with the men's announcement immediately following.