No. 1 Texas Woman’s begins conference tournament title defense with 69-54 win over UT Permian Basin - Lone Star Conference Skip To Main Content

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No. 1 Texas Woman’s begins conference tournament title defense with 69-54 win over UT Permian Basin

Championship Central
 
By NICK EATMAN

FRISCO, Texas – The quest for a three-peat began Friday night for Texas Woman's as the top-seeded Pioneers steamrolled past UT Permian Basin for a 69-54 win at Comerica Center.

Winners of 26 straight games, TWU advances to the semifinals on Saturday night (6 p.m.) as it looks for a third straight Lone Star Conference Tournament title and the fourth in school history.

But first things first. TWU took care of business against No. 8 seed UTPB, who did its best to keep the score close in the first half. TWU only led 22-20 early in the second quarter, but the Pioneers closed the half on an 18-4 run with six different scorers chipping in during the run.

The third quarter saw TWU push the lead up to 27 before UTPB started to rally, using a 19-6 run, capped by a Mikalah Buckley three-pointer at the buzzer, to trim the Pioneers' lead down to 12 points entering the fourth quarter.

But as they’ve been all season long, TWU was just too strong. The Pioneers, trying to preserve energy for a potential three-day tournament run, emptied the bench for most of the fourth quarter but still managed to post the comfortable win.

Overall, Gabby Elliott showed why she collected LSC Player and Defensive Player of the Year awards as she scored 16 points and hauled down 15 rebounds, including 14 in the first half. Jada Celsur scored 14 and Averee Kleinhans added 13 for TWU, which had eight different players find the scoring column.

 For the Falcons, Kenadi Rising scored 13 Buckley finished with 13 points and three steals. UTPB also had 10 players score, including six off the bench. The season ends for UTPB with a 15-14 record.
 
 TWU Notes:
  • Gabby Elliott notched her 16th double-double of the season with 16 points and 15 rebounds. She finished the regular season first in the LSC and 11th in the nation in double digits in points and rebounds.
  • Elliott reached at least 15 rebounds in a game for the fifth time this season.
  • The Pioneers rank first in the LSC in three-point defense, allowing just 27.1 percent for the season. On Friday, the TWU defense limited UTPB to just 3 of 23 shooting beyond the arc for 13 percent.
  • TWU had a similar win over UTPB in Odessa in January, winning 73-59. 
UT Permain Basin Notes:
  • UTPB falls to 2-3 all-time in LSC Championship Tournament games.
  • Jonesha Neal, who ranks 11th in the conference with 2.9 assists, hit her average with three, to go along with four rebounds.
  • UTPB was third in the LSC in offensive rebounds, getting 24.3 per game, but only had nine against TWU.