- Box Score
- Postgame Press Conference
- LSC Recap
- More photos from LSC
BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – The Tarleton TexAnn basketball team fought off Texas Woman's and then eventually, fought off some not-so-friendly spirits from the past on their way to the school's first-ever Lone Star Conference Tournament win – downing the Pioneers 71-66 in the first-round of the tournament at Bruin Field House in Bartlesville, Okla.
Tarleton came into the tournament having never won a postseason tournament game (0-7) and came away with the win, propelling them into the second-round that will take place on Saturday, March 6.
“The first thing I said to the girls after the game was how well I thought Texas Woman's played,” Tarleton head coach Ronnie Hearne said. “They never let up and forced us into a lot of mistakes that I don't think we normally make. As you could see, the game wasn't decided until there was 18 seconds left. You have to give them a lot of credit for playing the way they did.”
Brittnie Haley opened the scoring with a layup at the 18:39 mark which propelled the TexAnns to a 7-2 run to start the game. TWU countered with a 4-0 run to pull within a point of the TexAnns, but Tarleton came back with a 6-0 run and led 13-6 with 13:22 left to play.
A pair of layups from JoAnne Jones put the TexAnns on top 19-13 with 9:32 left, but TWU's Megan Hashman was fouled at the other end of the court and her two free throws made it a 19-15 game. Jones made another layup with 7:10 left to play to put the TexAnns on top 21-15, but that would be Tarleton's only field goal over the next four minutes and TWU went on a 10-0 run to take a 25-21 lead.
Both teams traded buckets over the course of the final three minutes in the first-half and Tarleton went into the locker room down 30-28 at the break.
Jones led all players with 12 points, but TWU's Tiandrea Dixon and Kayla Weaver both had eight points each to lead the Pioneers.
Tarleton shot nearly 43 percent from the field, but TWU shot 40 percent and went to the foul line 14 times, allowing the Pioneers to take in the two-point lead at the half.
Tarleton opened the second period scoring the first six points to retake the lead 34-30. TWU followed with a jumper from Jessica Durr, but layups from Morgan Stehling and Haley put the TexAnns on top 38-32.
Weaver made one of two from the charity stripe for the Pioneers, but Stehling nailed a three-pointer at the other end and followed it up with a layup at the 14:52 mark to push Tarleton's lead to 45-33.
TWU pulled within seven points of the TexAnns with a 9-2 run that made it 47-40 with less than 11 minutes to play. Sonya Sundberg then scored Tarleton's next five points which included a three-pointer at the 9:36 mark to put the TexAnns back on top by 10, 52-42.
The Pioneers then proceed with a 7-0 run that pulled TWU to within three points, but with 6:32 left to play Tara Towns hit a three-pointer to push the TexAnn lead back to six points.
Following a pair of free throws from Dixon, Sundberg banked a shot of the glass and following a turnover, Adamson hit a jumper with 3:38 remaining to make it a 59-51 game. Then just when the TexAnns thought they could put the game into cruise control, Kayla Weaver hit a three-pointer at the other end of the court to make it a five-point game still in favor of the TexAnns.
With 2:55 on the clock, Jones converted a pair of free throws to increase the TexAnn lead to 61-54. Her two shots from the charity stripe pushed her into 10th place all-time in free throws made in a career, passing former TexAnn Katie Crawford who finished her career with 245 free throws made.
Adamson followed with a floating jumper with 1:35 on the clock to give Tarleton a 63-54 lead, but Durr countered with a jumper of her own to make it 63-56.
TWU was then forced to foul over the final 1:08 and the TexAnns closed out the game making eight free throws in 10 attempts. The Pioneers make a couple of field goals and converted 4-of-4 from the free-throw line, but the Pioneers were unable to get a final basket after the 18.6 second mark and Tarleton picked up the 71-66 first-round win.
“No disrespect to TWU, because they played great, but I didn't think we played particularly as well as we have in the past,” Hearne said. “But, we persevered through a lot and battled our way through the end.”
Tarleton finished the game shooting 49 percent from the field, despite only shooting 33 percent from the three-point line. The TexAnns were 16-for-20 from the charity stripe to finish the game shooting 80 percent from the foul line. That was Tarleton's second best effort from the free-throw line behind an 83 percent effort at West Texas A&M earlier in the season.
Jones finished with a career-high 22 points in the LSC Tournament. She grabbed seven rebounds and had a game-high four blocks as well. Sundberg finished with 14 points as the only other TexAnn in double-figures. Haley tallied a team-high eight boards and Adamson dished out a team-high six assists.
Weaver led the Pioneers with 15 points as TWU finished the game shooting 42 percent from the field. It was just the sixth win in 10 tries for the TexAnns win allowing the opponent to shoot over 40 percent from the floor.
Hashman led TWU on the boards with eight rebounds. Dixon had TWU's only block and tallied four steals as well.
Not only was this Tarleton's first win as a team, but it was coach Hearne's first win in the tournament as well.
“I wanted to get a stuffed monkey and put in on my back and let the girls knock it off,” Hearne said. “But I decided not to do that. There is no doubt this is a big win for me and I am more than happy to get it.”
The TexAnns will now await the winner of the Northeastern State/Texas A&M-Kingsville game. The two teams will face each other at noon on Saturday, March 6.
