Four Lone Star Conference women’s basketball teams began 2021 undefeated as Lubbock Christian, Texas A&M International, Texas A&M-Commerce and UAFS all picked up two wins over the last week. West Texas A&M and Midwestern State split their two games as both teams defended home court.

            LSC schedule and results available here: https://lonestarconference.org/calendar.aspx?path=wbball
 
LSC BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
The LSC Women’s Basketball Championship is set for March 2-5-6, 2021, with quarterfinal games on campus sites on Tuesday, March 2. The four winning teams will advance to the final site at the highest remaining seed to play semifinal games on Friday, March 5, followed by the championship game on Saturday, March 6. The top eight teams will qualify for the tournament based on the recently announced basketball point rating system. The divisional champions will automatically qualify for the tournament and be seeded according to the point rating system. All teams must play a minimum of 11 games to qualify for the conference tournament.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Lexy Hightower, West Texas A&M, SR, Mass Communications/Electronic Media, G, Amarillo, Texas, Amarillo HS
Lexy Hightower continued her strong start to the season this past week as the Lady Buffs began Lone Star Conference divisional action against Midwestern State. The Amarillo High product went 19-of-26 (.731) from the floor including 3-of-6 (50-percent) from deep and 9-of-12 (75-percent) from the free throw line to average 25.0 points per game to go along with 12 total rebounds, three assists, one block and four steals. Hightower has now scored at least 20 points in three consecutive games while moving up two spots to 12th on WT's all-time scoring list (1,364), passing former All-Americans Joni Unruh and Sasha Watson this past week.
 
DEFENSIVE
Nicole Heyn, Texas A&M International, SR, Multidisciplinary Studies, F, Spanish Fork, Utah, Maple Mountain HS
Nicole Heyn was a defensive force in two wins against Texas A&M-Kingsville over the past week averaging 13.5 rebounds and 4.5 steals per game. In Saturday’s 62-48 win over the Javelinas, she secured a game-high nine rebounds and four steals, all while scoring a game-high 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting. In Monday's 55-50 victory on the road, Heyn set a career-high with 18 rebounds (six offensive and 12 defensive) to go along with five steals and a block. The Dustdevils held TAMUK to a season-low 32.2 percent from the floor in the second game and a season-low 48 points in the first game of the week.
 
WEEKLY AWARDS
Offensive
D-14    Ashton Duncan, Lubbock Christian
D-21    Dyani Robinson, Texas A&M-Commerce
J-5       Lexy Hightower, West Texas A&M
 
Defensive
D-14    Anastacia Mickens, Texas A&M-Kingsville
D-21    Juliana Louis, Texas A&M-Commerce
J-5       Nicole Heyn, Texas A&M International
 
SELECTED NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
      Hannah Boyett, UAFS, tallied 13 points and added five rebounds and five assists in the Lions’ first win of the season while shooting 5-of-11 from the floor. She followed that up with a season-high 25 points on 7of-13 shooting from the floor including 7-of-11 from beyond the arc. Boyett added three assists and five rebounds in UAFS’ second win of the weekend.
 
     DesiRay Kernal, Texas A&M-Commerce, was efficient offensively while leading the Lions to a 2-0 mark over the weekend in the home opener against St. Mary’s. The sophomore scored 20 points in the first game on Saturday while shooting 63.6-percent from the field and going a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. She added to her successful weekend with 17 points in game two to go along with a pair of assists. Over the weekend Kernal went 13-of-24 from the floor and helped the Lion offense stay atop of the LSC in scoring at 74.5 points through the first four games. Kernal was also a key cog in the Lion’s stifling defense this weekend against the Rattlers of St. Mary’s. She helped her team to hold their opponent to under 50 points in two straight contests, helped the defense to limit their offense to 35.5-percent shooting over the entire weekend all while adding five defensive rebounds, a block and five steals – a season-high of four in game two of the weekend.
 
     Allie Schulte, Lubbock Christian, helped LCU move to 4-0 overall with a pair of wins in Tyler, Texas over UT Tyler with a balanced effort on both ends of the floor. She led LCU averaging 17.5 points per game, completing the task in an average of 21 minutes on the floor, as LCU had a pair of decisive victories. The senior guard had 15 points in a 47-point victory (73-26) on Saturday, and followed with 20 points in a 69-48 win, as she combined to go 12-of-16 (.750) from the floor and 8-of-11 (.727) from long-range. LCU opened each game on an 11-0 run, and Saturday, Schulte had three three-pointers in the run to jumpstart a career-high effort of six three-pointers. She was 6-of-7 from long range in the performance. Defensively, Schulte led LCU with 6.0 rebounds per game and also combined for two blocks and three steals. She was a +49 in plus/minus on the week (+31 Saturday), and part of a defensive unit that held UTT to 28.1% shooting on the weekend.
 
      Mar'Shalia Lollie, UAFS, led the way defensively for the Lions averaging 14.5 rebounds in a pair of wins over UT Permian Basin. Lollie dropped a double-double pulling down 20 rebounds in a 72-59 win over UTPB to open the weekend while tying her season-high with 18 points. Her 20 rebounds mark the highest single-game total in the conference this season and the second-highest total in Division II. She also added one block and an assist for the Lions in the game. The senior raked in nine rebounds, one block and a steal in UAFS’ second win of the season in just 15 minutes of action.