Six Lone Star Conference women's basketball teams were unbeaten last week, headlined by Angelo State who went 2-0 with wins over No. 8 Lubbock Christian and Eastern New Mexico. Tenth-ranked Texas A&M-Commerce, St. Edward's, Texas Woman's, UAFS and UT Tyler were the other teams to finish 2-0. TWU ended Cameron's unbeaten run to start conference play and picked up a win over West Texas A&M during the week. The league standings tightened as all three previously undefeated teams fell at least once during the week. CU sits alone at the top of the standings at 6-1, followed by TWU at 5-1. Texas A&M-Kingsville, TAMUC and UTT are tied for third at 6-2.
LSC women's basketball teams are 159-145 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
Ashley Ingram, Texas Woman's, FR, Kinesiology, F, Bridgeport, Texas, Bridgeport HS
Ingram had another big week for Texas Woman's, averaging 18.0 points and 6.5 rebounds during an impressive 2-0 week for the Pioneers. On Thursday, Ingram poured in 21 points to hand Cameron their first conference loss of the season. The Bridgeport, Texas native hit 7-of-10 from the floor and pulled down eight rebounds to snap the Aggies' five-game win streak. On Saturday, Ingram scored 15 points, hauled in five rebounds, picked up four steals and turned away a pair of shots in just 26 minutes as the Pioneers routed West Texas A&M, who entered the week 5-0 in the LSC. Ingram shot 63.2 percent from the field and 85.7 percent from the free throw line last week.
DEFENSIVE
Kelsey Crouse, UT Tyler, SR, Biology, G, Sachse, Texas, Sachse HS
Crouse played a significant defensive role again for the Patriots, who went 2-0 last week with wins over Texas A&M International and Texas A&M-Kingsville. Crouse anchored a defense that held the Dustdevils to a season-low 27.3 percent shooting and handed the Javelinas just their second conference loss after TAMUK entered the week undefeated in the LSC. Against the Dustdevils, Crouse came down with a team-high seven rebounds, a team-high six assists, and a team-high three steals as the Patriots held TAMIU to just 1-of-11 shooting in the first half. Against the Javelinas, Crouse recorded another six rebounds, five assists and two steals to go along with her 7-for-12 shooting from the floor for a season-high 16 points.
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)
J-31 Ashley Ingram, Texas Woman’s (2)
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
J-31 Kelsey Crouse, UT Tyler (2)
SELECTED NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Maighan Hedge, Cameron, had another stellar weekend offensively, averaging 24 points and 4.5 rebounds as the Aggies went 1-1 in league play. Hedge opened the week with 20 points on 7-11 shooting while helping lead a 19-point comeback against TWU. The fourth-year guard followed that up with 28 points, five assists, and three steals in the blowout win of rival Midwestern State. She shot 7-11 from three and finished with five assists over the two-game span.
Montse Gutierrez, UT Tyler, used a pair of monster performances to push the Patriots to 6-2 in LSC play as UT Tyler defeated Texas A&M International and Texas A&M-Kingsville last week. Gutierrez was instrumental on offense in the 38-point victory against the Dustdevils as she scored 24 points on 9-14 shooting and nailed four three-pointers. Against the Javelinas, Gutierrez did it all. She scored 14 points on 5-8 shooting and added six assists, four rebounds, and five steals. Gutierrez shot 63.6 percent from the field and 50 percent from deep for the two games.
Payton Brown, Angelo State, played an important role for the Rambelles, who extended their home winning streak to six games with a pair of victories this past week. Against No. 8 Lubbock Christian, Brown became the first player to record a double-double against the Lady Chaps in conference play, tallying 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Rambelles to their first win against LSCU since 2000 and their first win over a ranked opponent in four years. Against Eastern New Mexico, the Lubbock native scored a season-high 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting, making three of her six three-pointer attempts and grabbing six rebounds.
Mar'Shalia Lollie, UAFS, ran her double-double streak to four games with and averaged 17.0 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals in a pair of wins over Oklahoma Christian. She scored 16 points to go with 10 rebounds and three steals while shooting 7-for-7 from the floor in a 72-60 home win over the Eagles. The Lions shot a season-best 57.1 percent in the win. In the return trip to OC, Lollie scored 18 points with 15 rebounds and tied the program record for offensive rebounds in an 85-75 victory.
Allie Schulte, Lubbock Christian, had a career-high outing at Angelo State Thursday, posting 10 field goals, which led to a 21-point performance on the road. She followed with 19 points in LCU's road win at UT Permian Basin, as 12 points came in the second half, which helped LCU turn a five-point lead into a 22-point victory. She was 15-of-18 (.833) inside the arc on the week, going 10-of-12 at ASU and 5-of-6 at UTPB. Along with the offensive efforts, which included 4.5 assists per game, she had 3.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. At UTPB, she had a mark of +29 (plus/minus) while on the floor and the team was outscored by seven points when she was not on the court. Her efforts on the week have her 24 points shy of 1,500 points in her career.
Ashanti Day, Oklahoma Christian, a freshman who had scored a combined 18 points in her first six games with the Eagles, exploded for 34 points – the second-highest single-game total this season by a Lone Star Conference player – to go with six steals, six assists and four rebounds in an 84-75 loss to Arkansas-Fort Smith. She played all 40 minutes, hitting 7 of 12 3-point shots while going 10 of 19 from the field. Her 34 points were the most by an OC player since Addy Clift scored 38 in a loss at St. Mary’s (Texas) on Feb. 16, 2019. In addition to Day’s points, her steal total against the Lions was the eighth-best this season by an LSC player. She also had nine points, seven assists and four rebounds as OC lost 72-60 at UAFS on Tuesday.
Iyanna McCurdy, Eastern New Mexico, averaged a double-double over the weekend as the Hounds split its weekend games, winning 57-54 over UTPB and losing 78-61 against Angelo State. The grad student collected 15 points and 10 rebounds in the Hounds win over UTPB, including a perfect 7-7 at the free-throw line. The Philadelphia, Pa. native then displayed a career performance against Angelo State, tying a career-best 22 points and finding a personal best 16 rebounds during the game, recording fifth double-double of the season. McCurdy is just the second Greyhound in the last decade to record a stat-line of 20+ points and 15+ rebounds. McCurdy's 16 rebounds land in sixth this season for a single-game high in the LSC.
Lauren Catherman, St. Edward’s, averaged 17.5 points per game on 48-percent shooting from the floor to lead the Hilltoppers to a 2-0 week. The sophomore also averaged 3.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game as SEU picked up back-to-back conference victories for the first time this season.
Kryslyn Jones, Texas A&M-Kingsville, averaged 16 points across the weekend, first scoring 17 on Thursday in Commerce, Texas, knocking down seven shots from the field at an 87.5 percent clip. Additionally, Jones logged two assists and was perfect from the charity stripe against A&M-Commerce. On Saturday, the sophomore scored in double-figures for the fourth time in her last five games, hitting five-three pointers for 16 points while recording six assists and two steals against UT-Tyler.
Silvia Blanco, Texas A&M International, was a key offensive piece for a Dustdevil team playing without two starters. In the loss to UT Tyler on Thursday, Blanco led the Dustdevils with 10 points alongside three rebounds, two steals and a block. In Saturday's loss to No. 10 Texas A&M-Commerce, Blanco had a career afternoon. She scored a career-high 22 points with three rebounds, two blocks and a steal, as well as shooting 6-for-8 from three, falling just one shy of matching the program record.
Dyani Robinson, Texas A&M-Commerce, totaled 25 points in the two games for the Lions this past week. She had 17 points, five rebounds, and two assists on Thursday against Texas A&M-Kingsville and totaled eight points, six rebounds, and four assists on Saturday against Texas A&M International. She is fifth in the conference with a scoring average of 15.9.
Katie King, Cameron, was a nuisance over the weekend, averaging 6.5 steals as the Aggies went 1-1 in league play. After recording seven points and two steals against Texas Woman's, the second-year guard totaled 11 takeaways and had 14 points and five rebounds against Midwestern State. Her steals total set a program record and helped CU total a program 26 steals and is the second-most by a player in Division II this season. King and the Aggies also held MSU to just 46 points, under 30 percent shooting from the field and 2-16 from three.
Keslyn King, Texas Woman's, led the defensive effort for the Pioneers this week. She guarded the opponent's best player and helped hold Cameron to their lowest quarter of scoring this season (7 points). She also helped the Pioneers hold Cameron to just 28% from the 3-point line. Against West Texas A&M, King grabbed five defensive rebounds and scored five points in the Pioneers win. TWU held West Texas A&M to just 33.9% field goal shooting.
Hannah Wilson, St. Mary’s, broke the St. Mary's single-game record for blocked shots with six to lead the Rattlers to their first conference win of the year. The fifth-year senior recorded a pair of double-doubles to bring her career total to 41 with 12 this season. She helped hold WNMU to just 21-percent from the field in the game and the two opponents to just .323. On Tuesday, Wilson opened the week with a trio of blocks against St. Edward’s.
Channing Cunyus, Lubbock Christian, had a couple of career-high performances on the week, completing the efforts on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. At Angelo State, she posted a career-high 10 rebounds, leading to her first career double-double. She followed Saturday on the road at UT Permian Basin with a career-high six three-pointers and a career-best 24 points, which matches a season-high by a Lady Chaps member this season. At UTPB, 17 of her 24 points were tallied in the first half, as she drained five of her six three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes of play (she had three in the opening quarter). Cunyus was part of a defensive effort Saturday that helped LCU outscore UTPB 21-4 in points off turnovers. She averaged 6.5 rebounds on the week and also had a steal.
Mia Deck, Texas A&M-Commerce, averaged three steals per game in the two wins for the Lions this past week. She had four steals, 15 points, four assists, and three rebounds on Saturday against Texas A&M International and recorded two steals, four points, two assists, and a rebound against Texas A&M-Kingsville.
Devon Williams, Texas A&M-Kingsville, dominated the defensive glass over the weekend logging 16 total rebounds and seven blocks in road contests against A&M-Commerce and UT Tyler. On Thursday, she pulled down four defensive boards while recording four blocks and a steal against TAMUC. Saturday afternoon, she logged a double-double at the Louise Herrington Patriot Center to the tune of 13 points and 12 rebounds, blocking three shots in the process.
Clara Fernandez, Texas A&M-International, helped the Dustdevils on the defensive end. She secured a weekend best 12 rebounds, all on the defensive end, including eight against No. 10 Texas A&M-Commerce. She also contributed over the weekend six assists and a steal.
Sammie Dufek, St. Edward’s, helped lead the Hilltoppers to a 2-0 week with an impressive defensive showing. The senior averaged six rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 2.0 steals per game for SEU.