ALLEN – The TexAnns and Cardinals faced off for the Lone Star Conference Tournament Championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line.  In the end, Tarleton held off Incarnate Word for its first ever LSC Tournament Championship, 48-44.

Tarleton struck first with the inside play of Kiara Wright, but UIW quickly countered from the free throw line.

The Cardinals first four points of the game came on free throws, but it was the TexAnns that jumped out to a 9-4 lead by the 15:00 mark behind the play of sophomores Wright and Peyton Adamson.

Wright was then given a breather and sophomore Shanae Lowrance took over the game.  The forward from Rockwall was coming off a career-high 22 points against Angelo State in the semifinals and carried the momentum over into Sunday.

Lowrance scored 12 of the next 14 points for the TexAnns, pushing Tarleton's lead to 20-10 at the midway point in the first half.

Both teams began to settle in defensively and points were hard to come by over the next few minutes.

By the final media timeout of the first half, it was a 24-16 contest in favor of the TexAnns with Lowrance providing half the points.

Before the end of the first half, Peyton Adamson nailed a big three pointer and was fouled on the play. Her free throw put the TexAnns ahead by 14 points heading into the break, 32-18.

After 20 minutes of play, Tarleton was shooting 52.2 percent from the field and 70 percent from the free throw line.  The TexAnns made up for 10 turnovers with a 19-15 rebounding advantage.

Tarleton also held UIW to 22 percent shooting in the first half and 0-for-5 from three point range.

Lowrance finished the half with 12 points, while Wright added 10 points and Peyton Adamson added eight points.  Lisa Parker contributed five rebounds to the effort.

The second half got off to a slow start for both teams and by the 12 minute mark, the score was 38-27 favor of the TexAnns.

Tarleton continued to rely on the sophomore class offensively as Wright, Adamson and Lowrance all reached double-digit points.

The Cardinals clawed their way back into the contest though and cut the margin to 40-37 with 8:01 remaining in the championship.  During that span, the TexAnns went scoreless for nearly six minutes and only had two points over a nine minute stretch.

At the 5:50 mark, UIW was able to tie the game at 40-40 on a dagger of a three pointer.  It was the first time the game was even since 17:09 in the first half.

Peyton Adamson, the nation's leading free throw shooter, then stepped up and sunk a pair to put Tarleton back ahead by two, 42-40, with 3:58 to go. 

Wright followed up with a drive in the paint to lay it in for two more.  That put the Texans up four with 2:07 left.

UIW had an opportunity to fight their way back into the game once again, but the stingy Tarleton defense negated any possibility of a Cardinal comeback.

Incarnate Word had a chance to tie with 15 seconds to go, but the Cardinals turned the ball over before they got a shot off.

A few free throws later, the TexAnns had sealed their first ever Lone Star Conference Tournament Championship with a 48-44 final.

Tarleton finished the game shooting 37.2 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent from the free throw line.  The TexAnns held the Cardinals to 26 percent shooting in the game and forced 15 turnovers.

Adamson and Wright finished with 15 points apiece while Wright grabbed 12 boards.  Lowrance added 14 points on perfect 6-for-6 shooting.

The All-Tournament team was announced after the game with Peyton Adamson taking home Tournament MVP honors.  Wright and Lowrance were named to the All-Tournament team as well.

The TexAnns managed to seal up a pair of trophies after winning the regular season LSC Championship as well.

Tarleton will find out who its next opponent is Sunday night when the NCAA Division II Selection Show takes place at 9 p.m.  The TexAnns will be in Wisdom Gym for a special Selection Show Watching Event and fans are welcome to attend.  Doors open at 8:30 p.m.

For more information regarding the 2011-12 Lone Star Conference Champion TexAnn basketball team, check out TarletonSports.com.