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Dec. 29, 2007

Box Score

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas - In an evenly matched, fast paced match-up between two top 25 teams, No. 20 West Texas A&M women's basketball fell to No. 6 Drury, 79-72, in the championship game of the South Padre Sports Tour on Saturday.

"These two teams were perfectly matched," said head coach Krista Gerlich. "I told our girls that they just played a game that is March playoff caliber. I'm so proud of them because they had a chance to throw in the towel when we got down but they didn't do that."

West Texas A&M jumped out to an early 11-5 lead with the help of a fastbreak lay-up from junior Dixie Bell that forced a Drury timeout at 16:53. Following the break, WTAMU stretched its lead to 16-7 by virtue of six points from both Emily Brister and Courtney Lee, but Drury went on a 14-7 run to claim the lead at 19-18 as Becky Flippin sank a three-pointer, a lay-up and another three-pointer, prompting a West Texas A&M timeout.

The lead changed 12 times throughout the half but WTAMU looked as if it would enter halftime with the lead as sophomore Holly Isaacs drained her second three-pointer with just 24 seconds on the clock; however, Drury's Sara Bos converted an old-fashioned three-point play to send the teams into the locker rooms tied at 40-40.

The second half continued with the break-neck pace as Drury went ahead by five, 51-46, at 13:50 with the help of six points from Melanie Oliver and four from Caitlin Shouse. But the Lady Buffs pulled within two when Brister missed a jump shot and junior Jamie Dreiling crashed the boards and sank a jumper in the paint, drew a foul and converted the free throw. Freshman Joni Unruh dished the ball to Isaacs, who sank her third shot from behind the arc, to reclaim the lead for WTAMU, 52-51, at 12:43.

Drury went on another run, this time a 12-6 margin, to take a seven point lead, but the Lady Buffs again pulled within two as Brister sank a jumper in the pain with 3:14 to go. During that span, WTAMU turned the ball over seven times and Drury capitalized by scoring two wide open lay-ups as they gained momentum heading into the final minutes of play.

"There's no doubt that we had way too many turnovers in this game," said Gerlich. "We had some mental breakdowns here and there against their press."

With 1:52 left in the game, Bos came down the court for the Lady Panthers and made back-to-back three-pointers to go ahead, 74-66, and put the nail in the coffin as the eight-point lead was too much for WTAMU to overcome. Senior Jenessa McKray made a fastbreak lay-up with 52 seconds on the clock, but three free throws by Lindsay Ballweg in the last 39 seconds gave Drury its seven-point lead to finish the game.

"I'm disappointed with the loss, but there are things we can take away from it," said Gerlich. "We're ready for conference play when we get back to Canyon."

Brister led the Lady Buffs with 24 points and a career-high 14 rebounds (five offensive, nine defensive). Lee added 16 points and five rebounds, in addition to her team-high three blocks. Again, all but one Lady Buff scored and all but one grabbed a rebound. Lee and Brister were named to the All-Tournament team for their efforts over the weekend.

With the loss, the Lady Buffs fall to 6-3 on the season and will return to the court to face Lone Star Conference North opponent Southeastern Oklahoma on Jan. 3.