Texas A&M-Kingsville, Cameron and West Texas A&M all remained unbeaten in the league last week to lead six Lone Star Conference women’s basketball programs that went without a loss. UT Tyler went 2-0, picking up an upset win over No. 4 Texas A&M-Commerce on the road to open the week. Tenth-ranked Lubbock Christian, Eastern New Mexico and Texas A&M International were the other teams who went undefeated.
LSC women's basketball teams are 142-128 overall and 22-13 against the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the other conference in the South Central Region.
LSC schedule and results are available here:
https://lonestarconference.org/calendar.aspx?path=wbball
2022 LSC BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
The LSC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships are set for March 1-3-4-5-6, 2022, with the opening round on-campus on Tuesday, March 1. The final eight teams will advance to the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas, for the quarterfinal, semifinal and championship rounds March 3-6. The top 12 men’s and women’s teams will qualify and be seeded based on the league standings following a single-round robin conference schedule (16 games).
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Maighan Hedge, Cameron, JR, Sports and Exercise Science, G, Melbourne, Australia, Rowville Secondary
Hedge continued her dominance on the offensive end by helping the Aggies stay perfect in Lone Star Conference play and making Cameron history this week. The fourth-year guard started the week by scoring 26 points and grabbing nine rebounds against UTPB; her 18th point broke the Aggie all-time scoring record, previously 1,602 points. Hedge followed that up with a 28-point effort on 12-of-19 shooting in a blowout win of Angelo State that saw CU register 100 points for the first time since February 22, 2020. The junior averaged 27 points per game on 58.3 percent shooting from the floor, including a 10-of-17 performance (58.8 percent) from three-point range during the week. In addition to her scoring, she also totaled five assists and a pair of steals for the week.
DEFENSIVE
Kelsey Crouse, UT Tyler, SR, Biology, G, Sachse, Texas, Sachse HS
Crouse helped lead a Patriots defense in a two-game sweep of their road trip last week that included their first win over a ranked opponent in the Division II era. UT Tyler knocked off No. 4 Texas A&M-Commerce after holding the Lions to a then season-low 33.9 percent shooting, handing them their first home loss since Feb. 9, 2021. Crouse had eight rebounds, five assists and added three steals in the upset victory. Against Western New Mexico, she added 10 rebounds and nine points, nearly earning her first double-double of the season and added a block and a steal in the win. In that game, the Patriots held the Mustangs to just 29.5 percent from the floor and 22.7 percent from beyond the arc.
WEEKLY AWARDS
Offensive
N-15 Maighan Hedge, Cameron
N-22 Allie Schulte, Lubbock Christian (2)
N-29 Emily Swiercz, Texas A&M International
D-6 Rai Brown, Texas A&M International
D-13 Madeline Stephens, Angelo State
D-21 Dyani Robinson, Texas A&M-Commerce
J-3 Maighan Hedge, Cameron (2)
J-10 Ashley Ingram, Texas Woman’s
J-17 Dyani Robinson, Texas A&M-Commerce (2)
J-24 Maighan Hedge, Cameron (3)
Defensive
N-15 Allie Schulte, Lubbock Christian
N-22 Grace Foster, Lubbock Christian
N-29 Allie Schulte, Lubbock Christian (3)
D-6 Brielle Woods, Texas Woman’s
D-13 Juliana Robertson, Lubbock Christian
D-21 Eva Langton, Texas A&M International
J-3 Devon Williams, Texas A&M-Kingsville
J-10 Karley Motschenbacher, West Texas A&M
J-17 Anastacia Mickens, Texas A&M-Kingsville
J-24 Kelsey Crouse, UT Tyler
SELECTED NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Liah Davis, UT Tyler, was a crucial part in the Patriots' sweep of their two-game road trip over fourth-ranked Texas A&M-Commerce and Western New Mexico. Against the Lions, Davis led all scorers with 26 points on an 11-for-14 shooting. She added in 11 rebounds to record her fourth double-double of the season as the Patriots beat No. 4 TAMUC, recording their first victory over a ranked opponent in the Division II era. Against Western New Mexico, Davis chipped in 12 points on 5-for-11 shooting and added in two rebounds and a block.
Karley Motschenbacher, West Texas A&M, continues to lead the Lady Buffs offensively this past weekend as the freshman guided WT to their fifth straight victory to move to 12-7 overall while remaining perfect in LSC action at 5-0. West Texas A&M returned to the court for the first time in 14 days on Saturday afternoon, suiting up just eight players against UT Permian Basin. The Lady Buffs finished the game on an 18-3 run to pick up a 61-44 victory over the Falcons. The Moorhead, Minnesota native went 7-of-12 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from behind the arc for a game-high 18 points to go along with 10 rebounds, four assists and a block for her fourth double-double of the season.
Ashley Ingram, Texas Woman's, continues to record impressive offensive performances for the Pioneers. The Pioneers dropped a non-conference contest to Midwestern State in their lone game last week. In the close loss, Ingram scored 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to record her second career double-double. She also shot 84.6 percent from the free throw and 52.9 percent from the field. The 30-point performance is a career-high for Ingram.
Brooklin Bain, Oklahoma Christian, posted a pair of double-doubles as OC fell on the road at two South Central Region powers, Texas A&M International (81-75) and Texas A&M-Kingsville (77-44). Against TAMIU, she matched her career-high with 28 points to go with 12 rebounds and three steals (also matching her career-high in that category). She had 23 points and 15 rebounds against TAMUK, producing more than half of her team’s points.
Ashton Duncan, Lubbock Christian, forced an update to the record books Saturday, firing in eight threes in a win over St. Mary's. Along with a career-high four steals, Duncan matched LCU's single-game record with her made eight triples. The feat has been done three times in LCU history, with Duncan completing the task twice, standing as the only Lady Chap to do it on the home court (LCU's wins this week placed their home win streak at 98 games). In the process, Duncan moved to 238 career three-pointers to move into third on LCU's all-time career list. Saturday, Duncan was 8-of-13 from long range and finished with 24 points. On the week, she was 9-of-17 (.529) from deep and had five steals and a block on the defensive end. With 238 career three-pointers, Duncan now ranks 11th on the active NCAA Division II list of three-point field goals made.
Brianna Pena, Texas A&M-Kingsville, averaged double-digit scoring figures across the weekend, posting nine points in a victory over Arkansas-Fort Smith before dropping 14 in a 33-point win over Oklahoma Christian. Pena shot the ball exceptionally well from beyond the arc, draining six triples at a 54.5 percent clip while also recording four assists over the weekend. Her offensive prowess allowed the Javelinas to maintain their spot atop the LSC at 6-0 while going 9-0 in the Steinke Physical Education Center for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign.
Dyani Robinson, Texas A&M-Commerce, scored 14 points or more in all three games this past week. She scored 15 points and added three rebounds against UT Tyler on Tuesday. The sophomore registered 14 points, two assists, and five rebounds at Western New Mexico on Thursday and closed the week with 22 points, five assists, and six rebounds on Sunday against Midwestern State. Robinson shot 46 percent from the field this last week and ranks fifth in the conference with a scoring average of 16.3 points.
Allie Schulte, Lubbock Christian, helped LCU to a 2-0 week with wins over St. Edward's and St. Mary's by averaging 11.0 points, 5.5 assists, 4.0 steals and 3.5 rebounds per game. She posted 11 points, four steals and a +25 in the victory over SEU and followed with 11 points, four steals, eight assists and a +25 against StMU. The eight assists against StMU was one shy of matching her career-high. She combined to shoot .588 (10-of-17) from the field and was +50 for the week. LCU combined to force 54 turnovers on the weekend, with 34 forced against StMU (17 steals), which was the highest turnover total for an LCU opponent since the 2008-09 season.
Kryslyn Jones, Texas A&M-Kingsville, dominated on both ends of the floor throughout the weekend as she and the Javelinas played stellar defense in a pair of games that stretched TAMUK's conference record to 6-0. Jones averaged 12 points per game in wins over UAFS and Oklahoma Christian while recording 11 rebounds, six steals, and a block. UAFS entered the weekend shooting 35.3 percent from the floor and OC at 36.9 percent before Jones and the Javelinas held the pair to a 26.8 percent shooting clip while maintaining the best three-point defense in the conference, with the Lions and Eagles hitting just 19.5 percent from beyond the arc. Overall, Jones assisted in causing 37 total turnovers, 18 against UAFS and 19 against OC cementing TAMUK's best start in conference play since the 2000-01 season.
Asiyha Smith, Texas A&M-Commerce, made her first two career starts this past week. She had three steals, two blocks, 15 rebounds while averaging 6.7 points per game. On Tuesday against UT Tyler, Smith totaled five points and three rebounds. She grabbed career-high nine rebounds while scoring five points and recording a block and a steal at Western New Mexico on Thursday. Against Midwestern State at home on Sunday, she totaled 15 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block.
Stephanie Peterson, Cameron, was all over the box scores this week as Cameron remained undefeated in league play with wins over UT Permian Basin and Angelo State. Despite scoring just five points and grabbing two boards against the Falcons, Peterson made up for it with eight steals and three assists. The third-year player then recorded a double-double against Angelo State with 20 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, three blocks, and two steals while helping hold the Belles to under 40 percent shooting from the field and 20 percent from three.
Ma'K'La Woods, Texas Woman's, returned and made a big impact for the Pioneers in their game against Midwestern State. Woods recorded one block, two steals and grabbed 11 rebounds to go with 14 points, completing her second career double-double.