Six Lone Star Conference women’s basketball teams went undefeated last week as No. 3 Texas A&M-Commerce remained unbeaten and atop the conference standings. Tarleton put together a 2-0 starting with a win over No. 20 West Texas A&M. Angelo State, No. 9 Lubbock Christian, St. Edward’s and Texas A&M International also went unbeaten.
LSC women’s basketball teams are 223-197 overall this season and 20-11 against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams, the other league in the NCAA South Central Region.
LSC schedule and results available here:
https://lonestarconference.org/calendar.aspx?path=wbball&
LSC BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
The LSC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship is set for March 3-5-6-7-8, 2020 with the opening round on campus (March 3), and the final eight teams at Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas on Thursday-Sunday, March 5-8. The top 12 men’s and women’s teams will qualify with seeding based on the conference standings (22 games). The divisional champions will automatically qualify and be seeded using the conference standings.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Mica Schneider, Midwestern State, SR, Business Finance, G, Boerne, Texas, Boerne HS
Schneider scored a career-high 31 points against No. 3 Texas A&M-Commerce on Thursday night. The senior drained a career-high seven three-pointers and ended the night 11-of-21 from the floor. The 31 points scored was the most points an opponent has scored against the unbeaten Lions this season. On Saturday, Schneider poured in 25 points and hit six more three-pointers to lift the Mustangs to a win over UT Tyler. The Boerne, Texas native hit 7-of-8 free throws over the final 2:12 to seal the win. For the week, Schneider averaged 28.0 points per game and nailed 13 three-pointers while shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc. The senior guard also added nine assists and pulled down 5.5 rebounds per game.
DEFENSIVE
Mackenzie Hailey, Tarleton, SR, Kinesiology, F, Burleson, Texas, Burleson HS
Mackenzie Hailey averaged 13.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and three steals to help lift Tarleton to a road sweep at No. 20 West Texas A&M and Eastern New Mexico. On Thursday, Hailey recorded her 31st career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds to help lead the upset efforts over No. 20 West Texas A&M. Hailey grabbed an offensive rebound with 10 seconds left and was fouled to secure the Texan win. The senior also added three steals and a block in the win. The Texans forced a season-high 31 opponent turnovers. After trailing for 37 straight minutes on Saturday, Tarleton went on a 12-0 run in the final 1:59 of the game to stun Eastern New Mexico on the road, 54-52. Hailey led the Texans with 12 points, three steals, and three assists. With the help of Hailey, the Tarleton defense held the Greyhounds to 29.8 percent shooting and 15.8 percent from beyond the arc. With five rebounds in Saturday’s match-up, Hailey has moved into fifth place in total rebounds in Tarleton women's basketball history. In four seasons, Hailey has tallied 868 rebounds.
WEEKLY AWARDS
Offensive
N-11 Mackenzie Hailey, Tarleton
N-18 Maddi Chitsey, Lubbock Christian
N-25 Ashton Duncan, Lubbock Christian
D-2 Mackenzie Hailey, Tarleton (2)
D-9 De’Anira Moore, Angelo State
D-16 Deijah Blanks, St. Edward’s
D-23 Nicole Heyn, Texas A&M International
J-7 Mar’Shalia Lollie, UAFS
J-13 Maighan Hedge, Cameron
J-20 Elizabeth Cathcart, Midwestern State
J-27 Allie Schulte, Lubbock Christian (2)
F-3 Maighan Hedge, Cameron (2)
F-10 Hannah Wilson, St. Mary’s
F-17 Mica Schneider, Midwestern State
Defensive
N-11 Maddison Glass, Texas A&M-Commerce
N-18 Juliana Robertson, Lubbock Christian
N-25 Alexis Bryant, Texas A&M-Commerce
D-2 Juliana Louis, Texas A&M-Commerce
D-9 Sawyer Lloyd, Angelo State
D-16 Sammie Dufek, St. Edward’s
D-23 Chania Wright, Texas A&M-Commerce
J-7 Alexis Bryant, Texas A&M-Commerce (2)
J-13 Allie Schulte, Lubbock Christian
J-20 Tiana Parker, West Texas A&M
J-27 Tiana Parker, West Texas A&M (2)
F-3 Alexus Jones, Texas A&M-Commerce
F-10 Abby Spurgin, West Texas A&M
F-17 Mackenzie Hailey, Tarleton, (3)
SELECTED NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Maddi Chitsey, Lubbock Christian, led LCU to a 2-0 week with road wins at UAFS and Oklahoma Christian by averaging 17.5 points a contest. Against UAFS, she was 4-of-8 from the field and provided three blocks on the defensive end of a 14-point performance. She followed with 21 points against OC, in which she had 18 points off 7-of-8 shooting in the opening half. Chitsey was 2-of-3 from long range and also co-led the team with seven rebounds and four assists. On the week, she was 3-of-4 from three-point range, 10-of-12 (83.3%) from the line and averaged 5.5 boards and 2.5 assists per game.
Ashanti Eden, UAFS, led the Lady Lions past weekend with 19.5 points per game while shooting extremely efficiently from the field (66.6 percent) and from the three-point line (57.1 percent). She also added four assists and three rebounds per game to go along with four steals.
Charli Becker, St. Edward’s, has been SEU's deadliest offensive threat and led the Hilltoppers to a pair of wins in their final home weekend to remain in the hunt to host a first round tournament game. Becker averaged 17 points while shooting over 50 percent from the field and from three-point range. SEU had a 2-0 week with wins over UT Permian Basin and Western New Mexico.
Maddison Glass, Texas A&M-Commerce, led the Lion offense to a pair of road wins last week, shooting efficiently from the field in both games. Against MSU, Glass had a career-high 20 points, shooting 75 percent from the field and 80 percent from the foul line in the game. She then had 10 points, including a pair of threes in the team's win over Cameron.
Ma'K'La Woods, Texas Woman’s, averaged 14.5 points per game during the week for the Pioneers. Woods scored 18 points on the road at No. 20 West Texas A&M and pulled down a season-high tying eight rebounds at Eastern New Mexico.
Kylie Collins, Tarleton, hit the two biggest shots of the season to lift Tarleton to a road sweep at No. 20 West Texas A&M and Eastern New Mexico. On Thursday, the Texans and Lady Buffs went into overtime and Collins hit the go-ahead shot in the final minutes. Trailing by 2, a Texan steal led to the winning three from Collins to put the Texans up, 51-49, with 90 seconds left. Collins tallied nine points off of three treys and added four rebounds and two assists in the game. After trailing for 37 straight minutes on Saturday against Eastern New Mexico, Tarleton went on a 12-0 run in the final 1:59 of the game to stun the Greyhounds on the road, 54-52. With two minutes left in the game, the Greyhounds held a 52-42 lead over the Texans. After scoring the winning points on Thursday, Collins was in position to do it again and she came through. A corner three from Collins brought the Texans all the way back and tied the game up at 52-all with 46 seconds remaining and put them in position to win. The senior tallied seven points and a rebound in the win. The Texans have won seven straight games and move to 19-5 on the season and 13-5 in the Lone Star Conference. Tarleton holds a 14-2 record over the last 16 games.
Abby Spurgin, West Texas A&M, continued to dominate for the Lady Buffs this past weekend as the junior averaged 15.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest as WT split Lone Star Conference action at the First United Bank Center in Canyon to move to 22-5 overall. The Fredericksburg, Texas native went 12-of-24 from the floor including 7-of-8 (87.5 percent) from the charity stripe as the junior scored 31 total points and grabbed 11 total rebounds (three offensive, eight defensive) to go along with two assists, two steals and 10 blocks while holding opponents to a shooting percentage of 34.2% and 50.5 points per game.
Alexis Bryant, Texas A&M-Commerce, was again a force for the No. 3 Lions in their two road wins last week. She averaged a double-double with 14.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game and was a huge impact in the paint for A&M-Commerce. Against Midwestern State, she had a career-high 21 points and recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 10 rebounds. She also recorded a steal in the game. Then against Cameron, Bryant narrowly missed another double-double, grabbing 10 rebounds to go with eight points and a block.
Alexus Quaadman, UT Permian Basin, continues to develop as a force in the paint for the Falcons. The freshman recorded seven more blocks last week giving her 43 on the season leaving her just one back of tying the UTPB all-time program blocks record. Since Jan. 11, the freshman has recorded at least two blocks in every game except one, and is averaging 3.2 blocks a game in that span. The Vegas native had a huge performance on Saturday, scoring a career-high 20 points along with six rebounds, five steals, and four blocks. She has recorded four blocks in a game five times this season.
Amaka Nwakamma, averaged a double-double last week, leading the Aggies to a 1-1 record including a tough five-point loss to No. 3 A&M-Commerce. The CU senior grabbed eight rebounds and recorded three assists and four points in just 15 minutes of action in the easy 89-66 win over UT Tyler. Nwakamma then came alive against the league leading Lions, scoring 24 points and grabbing 12 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. The Abuja, Nigeria native was 8-12 from the field and 8-12 from the foul line while also recording three assists and three steals during her effort against A&M-Commerce. Nwkamma helped hold CU's opposition to under 40 percent shooting from the field and had three steals over the two-game span.
Emma Middleton, Lubbock Christian, assisted LCU on the defensive side to a 2-0 week, which witnessed road wins at UAFS and Oklahoma Christian. She led LCU with 16 boards on the week (8.0 per game). Middleton matched a career high in rebounds with nine but needed one more to complete a double-double, as her 18 points and nine rebounds helped LCU to a road win at UAFS. She followed with eight points, seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals at OC. Middleton also went 8-of-8 from the free throw line.
Jasmine Jackson, St. Edward’s, was a beast on the boards this week as the Hilltoppers secured two wins in their final home weekend. Jackson averaged 13 rebounds per game and shot over 50 percent from the floor. SEU went 2-0 with wins over UT Permian Basin and Western New Mexico.
De'Anira Moore, Angelo State, was a force in the paint for the Belles against Oklahoma Christian and UAFS, scoring 37 total points for Angelo State over the weekend. Moore shot 57 percent from the field, making 13-23 total shots, and was perfect from the free throw line, making 11-of-11 free throws. Moore grabbed 16 total rebounds over the weekend, eight on both offense and defense, while also grabbing one assist, five blocks, and one steal.