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No. 15 Lady Buffs Advance To NCAA-II Regional Semifinals With 78-64 Win Over Lady Reds
March 10, 2006
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TOPEKA, Kan. --- The second-seed and 15th-ranked West Texas A&M University Lady Buff basketball team advanced to the NCAA-II South Central Regional Semifinals for the second time in three years with a 78-64 win over sixth-seeded Northeastern State University Friday afternoon at the NCAA-II South Central Regional Tournament at Topeka, Kan., hosted by Washburn University at Lee Arena. The win snapped WTAMU's four-game losing skid to NSU, and extended the Lady Buffs' overall win streak to 13 in a row as they improve to 28-3 on the year, the best record for WTAMU since the 1996-97 season when the Lady Buffs advanced to the Elite Eight.
WTAMU will be facing third-seeded Emporia State University in the Regional Semifinals, Saturday at 5 p.m. ESU, ranked eighth in the country, beat sixth-seeded Tarleton State University, 85-67, in Friday's first quarterfinal game. ESU is coached by Brandon Schneider, son of WTAMU head coach Bob Schneider.
Friday was WTAMU's first win over NSU since 2003, as the Lady Buffs snapped a four-game losing streak to the Lady Reds, and now trail the overall series, 6-5. It was the second time in last three years for the teams to meet in the NCAA-II Regionals, as NSU beat WTAMU in the 2003-04 semifinals, 79-71, in OT.
The Lady Buffs are trying to reach the Regional Finals for the first time since 1996-97, when WTAMU went 29-2 and advanced to the NCAA-II Elite Eight.
Four Lady Buffs posted double-digits Friday afternoon, led by senior forward Keisha Monroe who netted a team-high 14 points, 12 in the first half, while junior forward Alicia Saunders logged her 10th double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds, just missing a triple-double by adding eight blocked shots.
Freshman guard Emily Brister added 13 points and moved into No. 2 on the WTAMU single-season scoring list, as she now has 658 points, passing Vanessa Wells' 657 points in the 1987-88 season. Rhonda Kimbrough is No. 1 with 756 points in 1981-82.
Junior guard Jennifer Brock tossed in 10 points, all in the second half, and dished out seven assists, giving her 213 on the year and also moving into second on the WTAMU single-season assists list. Angelo Seay (1987-88) and Mitzi Marquart (1983-84) have the No. 1 spot with 216 assists.
WTAMU led from start-to-finish, and led by as much as 24 points in the second half.
The Lady Buffs had a 44-33 rebounding edge, as well as a dominating, 42-22, points in the paint advantage.
NSU was led by 16 points by Verressa Gaston's game-high 16 points, while Bobbi Jo Truelove added 13 points.
WTAMU shot 44.6 percent (25-of-56) from the field, including 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) from 3-point land, hitting all three treys in the second half after shooting 0-of-8 behind the arc in the first half. At the free throw line, WTAMU hit 80.6 percent (25-of-31), including 17-of-21 (85.0 percent) in the second half.
NSU was 22-of-60 (36.7 percent) field goal shooting, including 7-of-27 (25.9 percent) from behind the 3-point arc and 13-of-22 (59.1 percent) at the charity stripe.
After taking a 10-8 lead, the WTAMU defense sent an early message of what was to come for the game by forcing an NSU shot clock violation at the 14:02 mark and the Lady Buffs then reeled off the next seven points to cap an 8-0 run to go up 17-8.
After NSU closed to 28-22 with 3:50 to play in the half, WTAMU ended the half with an 8-0 run to take a 36-22 lead into halftime, as the Lady Buffs are now 23-1 when leading at the half.
Freshman guard Courtney Lee hit a layup at the 15:17 mark for WTAMU's first 20-point lead at 52-31.
After NSU closed to 55-40 with 11:16 to play, Brister hit a 3-pointer 14 seconds later and then the Lady Buffs forced another Lady Reds shot clock violation, and NSU never got within 18 again.
Brister hit two free throws at the 5:26 mark to move into second place, and put WTAMU ahead, 69-48, part of the Lady Buffs free throw parade, as they went over five minutes without a field goal, but only missed two shots, as NSU was forced to foul and WTAMU hit 11-of-12 at the free throw line.
Brock capped the charity stripe streak with a pair at 3:14 to give the Lady Buffs their largest lead of the game of 24 points at 76-52.
Saunders had a putback of her own miss on a fast break at the 2:00 mark, to put WTAMU up, 78-56, which would be the Lady Buffs' last field goal of the half, as Schneider sent in the reserves.
Saturday will be the fifth time that the Schneider's have coached against each other, as the younger Schneider holds a 3-1 advantage. ESU defeated WTAMU, 85-71, last year in the ESU Candlewood Suites Classic at Emporia, and 58-57, in the 2003-04 season again in the ESU Candlewood Suites Classic, but the Lady Buffs got revenge, knocking off the Lady Hornets, 60-55, 2004 in the NCAA-II South Central Regional.
Saturday's semifinal game will be on the Buffalo Sports Network on KGNC 710 AM and streamed on the Internet at www.gobuffsgo.com.
The WTAMU men will be playing in their NCAA-II South Central Regional at Bolivar, Mo., against Northwest Missouri State University, tipping off at 6 p.m. That game will be on KPUR (1440 AM).
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