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March 24, 2009

Box Score

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Lady Buffs defense held Delta State to a low score, but it wasn’t enough as the team fell to the Lady Statesmen, 47-55. Delta State advances to the semifinal round with a record of 30-6, while the Lady Buffs finish the season with a 28-6 overall record.

“Obviously, this was not the outcome we wanted,” said head coach Krista Gerlich. “It was an extremely physical game and we came out kind of timid and just didn’t attack. Delta made us pay for some missed shots, but I thought we responded really well defensively.”

The Lady Buffs struggled to find the basket at the beginning of the game, while Delta State went on a 7-0 run. Courtney Lee (senior, guard, Arlington, Texas) hit a bucket at the top of the key for WT’s first points of the game at the 15:15 mark.The Lady Buffs’ defense held Delta to only three points at the 11:15 mark.

WT picked up some momentum, as Lee scored a layup and a three, followed by another layup by Jamie Dreiling (senior, forward, Lake Kiowa, Texas). Ashley Leven (freshman, center, Amarillo, Texas) connected with Joni Unruh (sophomore, guard, Amarillo, Texas) for a layup to bring the Lady Buffs within four points of the Lady Statesmen.

WT scored only two more points for the half, but their defense remained tough, holding Delta state to only four points to finish with a score of 13-19, the lowest scoring half this season for the Lady Buffs.

Leading Delta State in scoring in the first half was Courtney Wilson with seven points, followed by Veronica Walker with five points. Walker also led the Lady Statesmen in rebounds for the half with seven. Delta State shot 35.0 percent from the field, making seven of 20 shots attempted.

The Lady Buffs were led in scoring by Lee, with seven points, followed by Dreiling with four points. Dreiling and Lee also each recorded six rebounds while Leven registered three blocks in the first half. The team was held to a season low 23.1 percent halftime shooting percentage from the field, making only six of 26 attempts.

Unruh opened the scoring in the first half with a layup, but Delta immediately answered with two jumpers to bring the score to 15-23 at the 15:55 mark. While WT continued to struggle to find the basket, Delta State knocked down seven points to go up by 13 points, the largest margin of the game.

Ceciley Johnson (junior, center, Berkeley, Calif.) hit two free throws, followed by two more free throws by Dixie Bell (senior, guard, Canyon, Texas) to bring the Lady Buffs to within nine points.

Delta State answered with a fast break layup and a jumper. Holly Isaacs (junior, guard, Brownfield, Texas) hit a trey in the corner, but a 11-4 run by the Lady Statesmen kept a 15-point margin. With only one minute left in the game, the Lady Buffs had battled back to within seven points. A three-point attempt by Lee was boarded by Unruh, who was fouled and sent to the line for one made free throw.

WT’s defense created a five-second Delta State turnover, returning the ball to the Lady Buffs with 54 seconds remaining. Lee hit a jumper to bring the score to within four points with 51 seconds on the clock. Delta State ran the court for a fast break layup.

The Lady Buffs were forced to foul, sending Delta to the line. A rebound and bucket by Leven was just not enough as the clock ran out with the final score of 47-55.

“I’m disappointed for these young ladies,” Gerlich said. “They’ve had a Cinderella season since Emily went down. I could not be more proud of these girls for not quitting.”

Lee and Unruh finished the night with double-digit scores of 13 and 10, respectively. Dreiling led all rebounders with 12 total boards, just shy of her career-high 13 rebounds. Leven tallied all of the team’s blocks with six, reaching a new career high.

The Lady Buffs finished the game with a shooting percentage of 25.4 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from the three-point line. Delta State outrebounded the Lady Buffs 33-41, a margin of eight boards.

WT’s Elite Eight appearance marked the first time in 12 seasons for the Lady Buffs to make it this far. They finished with a 28-6 overall record, with Krista Gerlich meeting the 28-win season twice in only three seasons with the team.