West Texas A&M showed determination, grit and some true dedication – and all that occurred long before things tipped off Friday in the LSC Championship semifinal.
Head coach Krista Gerlich, who underwent emergency appendectomy surgery Thursday night, was on the bench less than 16 hours later. Her Lady Buffs played with similar passion in an 87-76 win over Texas A&M-Commerce, the No. 7 seed in the tournament that knocked off league co-champion ACU on Wednesday.
But the Cinderella story ended emphatically Thursday as West Texas continues its hot streak, winning its eighth straight game to improve 20-11. The Lady Buffs advance to Saturday night’s final against the winner of MSU/Tarleton State.
The season ends for the Lions at 11-16, however considering the program had eight wins in three previous seasons, it was quite an improvement for Commerce and head coach Nicole Anderson, who was named LSC Co-Coach of the Year.
Texas A&M-Commerce got to the semifinals thanks to dominating rebounding edge (50-24) over ACU. But it was a different story against the Lady Buffs, who not only held their own on the glass, but finished the game with a 45-44 edge on the boards.
West Texas had three scorers with at least 20 points, led by Casey Land’s 25 points. She hit three of the team’s four 3-point baskets. Chontiquah White had 24 points and 12 rebounds while Devin Griffin scored 21, pulled down 13 boards and had six assists and four steals. Jordan Vessels came off the bench to score 12 points.
For Commerce, Breanna Harris had another double-double, scoring 22 points with 12 rebounds, including 10 offensive. Devin Oliver had 19 points off the bench. La’Tisha Hearne had 10 points and 10 rebounds while Symone Brown had 10 points.
The Lady Buffs used a 10-0 run midway through the first half to gain a five-point lead. WT led by 17 at the half and as much as 27 at the 14:30 mark in the second half. But the gritty Lions rallied down the stretch and closed the gap to eight with 3:04 to play.
But a pair of layups by White put the game out of reach.
The Lady Buffs advance to their LSC-leading 17
th postseason tournament final and seek their 12
th LSC Championship title.
WT vs AMC Gallery
West Texas A&M Notes
- West Texas A&M advances to the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament finals for a league best 17th time, but for the first time since winning three consecutive titles from 2008-10.
- The Lady Buffs extended their current winning streak to eight games and have won nine of their last 10.
- West Texas A&M will play the winner of Friday night's semifinal matchup between Midwestern State and Tarleton State in the championship game Saturday at 6 p.m.
- The Lady Buffs swept its season series against Tarleton State and were swept by Midwestern State.
- Junior forward Devin Griffin notched her 10th double-double of the season with 21 points and 13 rebounds. She averaged 23.3 points and 8.7 rebounds in three games against the Lions this season.
- Junior guard Casey Land poured in a season-high 25 points knocking down three 3-pointers. Her previous season-high was a 21-point effort against Texas A&M-Commerce on Jan. 16.
- Sophomore forward Chontiquah White notched her 11th double-double of the season with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
- Junior guard Raven Gerald distributed a season-high 12 assists.
A&M-Commerce Notes
- Breanna Harris became only the third player in school history to score 400 points and grab 200 rebounds in a single season when she made a free throw with 18:58 left in the first half. She posted her 17th double-double of the season with 22 points and 12 rebounds.
- This was head coach Nicole Anderson’s first trip to the LSC Tournament in her four years. The Lions upset #2 seed Abilene Christian, 80-79 in the first round.
- The Lions had pulled down more rebounds than their opponents in each of their previous seven games going 4-3 during that stretch before being out rebounded today, 45-44.
- The Lions have lost the last nine meetings against the Lady Buffs last winning in 2006-07 and are now 4-48 all-time in the series.
- La’Tisha Hearne posted her second double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
- Devin Oliver scored a career high 19 points. She entered the tournament 5-of-45 from three-point range for the season and went 5-of-10 during the tourney.