Lone Star Conference basketball teams will take a break for the holidays before resuming non-conference and crossover games next week. Three LSC teams will take a perfect record into 2011 - Incarnate Word and West Texas A&M on the men’s side and Northeastern State on the women’s.
The LSC men have a 99-63 overall record so far this season, including a 53-25 mark in the South Division and 46-38 in the North. In league crossover action, the South Division holds a 27-14 record over its North opponents. In the NCAA South Central Region, the men’s teams are currently 19-11 combined versus Heartland Conference teams and 6-2 against the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA).
The LSC women are 64-60 overall, with a 30-43 mark in the South and 49-32 in the North this season. In league crossover play the North has the advantage, 27-20. The women’s teams are currently 15-18 combined versus Heartland Conference squads and 4-2 against the MIAA in the NCAA South Central Region.
STAT LEADERS
In men’s games played last week, the LSC had two score more than 30 points, 14 over the 20-point mark and 10 double-digit rebounders, while six recorded a double-double. Top performances included:
Points, Men: 33, Dauntae Williams, UCO vs. ENMU
Rebounds, Men: 14, Ridge McKeither, ASU vs. ECU
Assists, Men: 12, Jamal Edwards, ECU vs. ASU
Steals, Men: 7, Desmond Woodberry, ACU vs SE
On the women’s side, the league had one player over the 30-point mark, 11 with more than 20 points and 14 double-digit rebounders, while 12 posted double-doubles in action last week. Top performances included:
Points, Women: 35, Mack Lankford, ACU vs SE
Rebounds, Women: 16, Sumiya Darden, SWOSU at UIW
Assists, Women: 9, Casi Rawls, ECU at ASU
Steals, Women: 5, Two players
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
NORTH MEN’S OFFENSIVE
Dauntae Williams, University of Central Oklahoma, SR, Guard, Missouri City, Texas, Missouri City HS
Williams led UCO to a split of two road LSC crossover games, averaging 28.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals a contest while shooting 57.1 percent from the field. The senior guard scored a game-high 23 points with five rebounds and three steals in a 67-60 loss to unbeaten West Texas A&M and came back two days later to score 33 points on 14-of-19 shooting while adding eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals in a 103-85 rout of Eastern New Mexico.
NORTH MEN’S DEFENSIVE
Vinicius Telo, Cameron University, SO, Forward, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Marianapolis Prep HS
Telo was Head Coach Wade Alexander’s go-to defender this week as he was utilized to play the perimeter to stop the opposing team’s best three-point shooter. In Monday’s opponent, that was Mark Stevenson of Texas A&M-Kingsville, who was just 1-of-7 from behind the arc and finished the night with just three points. Telo’s efforts helped hold CU opponents to 63.33 points and a .387 field goal percentage last week.
SOUTH MEN’S OFFENSIVE
Tracy Robinson, University of the Incarnate Word, SR, Forward, San Antonio, Texas, Sam Houston
UIW kept its season-opening string perfect (11-0) with a pair of wins during the week. Robinson was the team leader by scoring double points in both games and recording his fourth double-double (31 points, 11 rebounds) against Southwestern Oklahoma. Those 31 points were the second time this year he has topped 30. In the two victories he shot .640 from the field and .800 at the line.
SOUTH MEN’S DEFENSIVE
Kelcey Solomon, University of the Incarnate Word, SO, Guard, Houston, Texas, Worthing HS
In winning two games in the week and running its perfect mark to 11-0, UIW limited the two opponents to 34 percent shooting from the floor. Solomon paced the team with five steals as the Cardinals forced an average of 20.5 turnovers a game. The opponent’s starting guards shot but 24 percent from the field. Also, Solomon scored a game-high 21 points against Cameron to go with 8 rebounds.
NORTH WOMEN’S OFFENSIVE
Taylor Lewis, Northeastern State University, SO, Guard, Broken Arrow, Okla., Broken Arrow HS
Lewis paced Northeastern State to a pair of LSC crossover road wins by scoring a total of 37 points in the two outings. The sophomore guard from Broken Arrow had a career-high 22 points in a 65-62 win at West Texas A&M on Monday, Dec. 20. She was 8-of-17 from the floor, 3-of-6 from behind the arc and 3-of-3 from the free throw line. She also had 15 points in NSU’s 55-45 win at Eastern New Mexico. For the week, Lewis was 13-of-27 (.481) from the field, 6-of-13 from the arc and perfect on five tries from the charity stripe as Northeastern State (9-0) closed out the first semester as the LSC’s only unbeaten women’s team.
NORTH WOMEN’S DEFENSIVE
Ali Brown, Cameron University, FR, Guard, Chattanooga, Okla., Chattanooga HS
Brown was a defensive wall for Aggies Head Coach Tom Webb during a two-game road trip to LSC crossover opponents. Webb brought in Brown to strategically shut down the opponent’s hottest shooter and the young guard did not let him down. Against Incarnate Word, hot shooting Katy Cooke was 4-of-5 from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from behind the arc for 12 points. Brown was assigned to Cooke after halftime and kept Cooke to just 5 points in the second half which all came from the foul line. In Kingsville, facing the Javelinas, Brown was assigned to leading scorers Kelly Bastow and Brenna Gonzalez after the break. In the first, Bastow scored 12 points but finished with only 15 after having to face Brown one-on-one. Gonzalez had a similar story, posting eight in the first and finishing with just 13 for the game. The pair combined to shoot 7-for-15 (47-percent) in the first but just 3-for-15 (20-percent) in the second.
SOUTH WOMEN’S OFFENSIVE
Katy Cooke, University of the Incarnate Word, SO, Marble Falls, Texas, Marble Falls HS,
Cooke led Incarnate Word to a split in two crossover games last week with a team-high 18.5 points per game. She scored 20 points with six rebounds, six assists and five steals in the Cardinals first win of the season over Southwestern Oklahoma, 71-64. Cooke’s performance (17 point and six assists) against Cameron paced UIW in the defeat.
SOUTH WOMEN’S DEFENSIVE
Katiya Jackson, Midwestern State University, SR, Guard, Wichita Falls, Texas, Burkburnett HS
Jackson delivered her first collegiate double-double while helping the Mustangs limit the opposition to 37 percent from the floor in wins over Texas Woman’s and Texas A&M-Commerce last week. The senior from Wichita Falls poured in a team-high 16 points and pulled in a career-best 12 rebounds while adding a blocked shot and two steals in 26 minutes Monday night against A&M-C after going for eight points and four rebounds in 23 minutes Saturday versus TWU. Jackson averaged 12 points, eight rebounds and 2.5 assists a game for the week.