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Today's Men's schedule
Noon - West Texas A&M vs. Cameron
2:30 - Central Oklahoma vs. Eastern New Mexico
6:00 - Texas A&M-Commerce vs. Midwestern State
8:30 - Tarleton State vs. Southwestern Oklahoma
Lions are up first for Mustangs - Nick Gholson, Times Record News
Buffs battle Cameron - Lance Lahnert, Amarillo Globe News
Midwestern remains sixth in South Central Region rankings - MSU Sports
Buffaloes Move into Fourth in South Central Region Ranking - WTAM Sports
Texans are No. 3 in latest regional poll - TSU Sports
Yesterdays Womens' Scores
UCO 76, ASU 52 - Recap - Quotes - Box Score - Photos - LSC Office
TSU 63, SOSU 61 - Recap - Quotes - Box Score - Photos - LSC Office
TWU 57, WTAM 56 - Recap - Quotes - Box Score - Photos - LSC Office
NSU 65, ACU 59 - Recap - Quotes - Box Score - Photos - LSC Office
Tarleton’s Adamson Taking Leading Role - LSC Office
Familiar Pre-Game Speech Lifts TWU To Milestone Win - LSC Office
Senior Moment: UCO’s Beckley Shines Bright - LSC Office
Beckley Finishing Strong - UCO Sports
Moving On UCO Sports
RiverHawks Survive Scare - NSU Sports
W. Basketball: SE Women Drop Heartbreaker at Tourney - SOSU Sports
Belles Season Ends in Opening Round of LSC Tournament - ASU Sports
Lady Buffs Drop 57-56 Heartbreaker to Pioneers in First Round - WTAM Sports
West Texas A&M Lady Buffs tumble - Ricky Treon, Amarillo Globe News
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Top-Ranked ‘Belles Split at St. Mary’s - ASU Sports
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MSU doubles' sweep the difference against TexAnns - MSU Sports
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Awards, National Berths Abound for Indoor Women's Track - ASU Sports
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TexAnns survive opening-round thriller
By BRAD KEITH
Sports Editor
brad.keith@empiretribune.com
No. 18 Tarleton State (24-3) set its record for wins in a season since joining NCAA Division II and the Lone Star Conference in 1994-95, edging Southeastern Oklahoma State (20-7) 63-61 in the opening round of the LSC Basketball Championship at Bruin Fieldhouse Wednesday afternoon. Tarleton advances to face Central Oklahoma in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Friday. UCO blasted Angelo State 76-52 in the first game of the tournament Wednesday. The TexAnns defeated the Bronchos 86-74 in Edmond, Okla. back on Jan. 6.
Tarleton saw a 14-point lead slip away and trailed by one twice in the second half, the last time coming with 44 seconds left when a triple by Southeastern's Whitney Coffey made it 61-60. Tarleton's Shelby Adamson drove to the baseline on the ensuing possession, then bounced a pass to Kiara Wright in the paint. The true freshman was fouled going up with 26 seconds remaining and knocked down both free throws to put Tarleton on top for good.
"Kiara was more nervous than we were," said Adamson. "We all just knew she was going to hit (both free throws). She's played huge all season. She looked like a veteran out there. I never would have guessed she's a freshman."
Kelsey Benford blocked a shot out of bounds on the other end with 10 ticks on the clock, and Southeastern's Nikki Nester traveled after the ensuing inbound pass. It was the Savage Storm's 17th turnover. Lisa parker hit one of two free throws to finish the scoring with five seconds left. When her second shot caromed off the rim, Wright dove to the floor to secure the rebound. She was instantly tied up, but the possession arrow was in Tarleton's favor. The TexAnns inbounded the ball to Parker and time expired before Southeastern had a chance to commit another foul.
"Our defense was the key," said eighth-year head coach Ronnie Hearne. "I think they were averaging 73 (points per game). At our place when they beat us on a last second 3-pointer they had 78. Our defense definitely made the difference.
Adamson led the TexAnns with 19 points, including an 11-12 performance at the free throw stripe.
Senior point guard Sonya Sundberg scored 11 points in her 113th consecutive start for Tarleton. Wright also had 11. Benford scored just four points, but made a significant impact with three blocked shots, two steals and seven boards. Southeastern also had three scorers in double figures as Jessica Hesse had 12 and Bailey Welch and Coffey tallied 10 points and eight rebounds each.
The TexAnns were just 3-18 (16.7 percent) from the arc, but made up for it by going 18-20 (90 percent) at the free-throw stripe with most of them coming off drives by Adamson.
"(Driving) is always part of our game plan," said Adamson. "We weren't hitting our outside shots and that's going to happen sometimes, so you have to have a fallback plan. Luckily, we were able to attack the basket and score in different ways."
Southeastern was only 4-14 from 3-point land and hit 13-20 (65 percent) from the stripe. Tarleton appeared to be in control after a 15-2 run turned an early 9-5 deficit into a 20-11 lead. Ten of the TexAnns' first 12 points came from Adamson. The advantage grew to 12 on a layup by Sundberg and 14 on a basket in the paint by Wright, but the Savage Storm had an answer. A 3-ball by Natalie Rudd got the Southeastern rally started, and Elizabeth Dean scored four of the next six SOSU points in the paint to make it 31-26 at the break.
The second half started with a layup by Coffee, and suddenly it was a 31-28 game after 11 straight Savage Storm points. Coffey tied the game at 32-32 with 17:50 left, and it was tied again at 34-34 just 27 seconds later. The TexAnns went right back to work, scoring 17 of the next 22 points to again lead by double digits. Five different players scored in the run, including Stehling with four on back-to-back field goals to get it kick started. Parker and true freshman Brianna Bledsoe each hit 3-pointers during the stretch and Adamson and Sundberg added two points each.
Southeastern continued the trend of back-and-forth runs, pouring in 13 of the next 15. The Savage Storm later took their first lead since the opening three minutes of the game when a Jasmine Hughey layup made it 57-56 with 4:36 remaining.
Tarleton went back on top on a jumper by Benford, and led by three after a pair of Adamson free throws. Dean hit a charity shot to make it a two point game before Coffey's 3-ball gave Southeastern its last lead. Bledsoe joined Wright as freshmen making a big impact. The former Stephenville High School star had eight points, a pair of rebounds, two assists and two steals in 19 minutes of action.
"Brianna looked like she's been in the conference tournament two or three times," said Hearne. "She certainly didn't look like a freshman. We had nine players play a lot and they all made a difference," Hearne added. "It was a great team win."
Tarleton, which remains No. 2 in the latest South Central Region rankings released Wednesday, avenged its only home loss of the season. Southeastern used a Jasmine Hughey buzzer-beater from near half court to clip the TexAnns 78-77 back on Dec. 2.
Hustlin' Henry earns top defensive honor
By BRAD KEITH
Sports Editor
brad.keith@empiretribune.com
BARTLESVILLE, Okla. - On the wall outside Tarleton State's men's basketball locker room back home in Wisdom Gym hangs what those closest to the program believe is the key to the Texans' success - head coach Lonn Reisman's infamous "hustle board." Senior point guard Corin Henry takes as much pride as perhaps any Texan to play under Reisman in topping the lists on the hustle board - things such as charges taken, tipped balls, number of times a player dives on the floor and other categories one won't find in the official box scores.
Nobody has taken as many charges as Henry, who set Tarleton's single-season record when he was knocked to the floor by a driving opponent for the 39th time in last Saturday's regular-season finale at Angelo State. He passed the 38 player control fouls drawn by Cornell Jones for the 2004-05 Texans that reached the Final Four.
"I take charges to show my team that I will do anything to help us win," said Henry. "It's one of those things that are important even though it doesn't make the stats."
For his efforts, Henry was named Lone Star Conference South Division Defensive Player of the Year at the post season awards ceremony at the Phillips Building Tuesday night.
"I guess it shows I can move my feet a little bit," Henry said with a chuckle. "This honor is a team effort, though, I never would have won it without my teammates."
Henry says playing junior college ball for former Texan Rodney McConnell at Ranger College prepared him for Reisman's intense brand of man-to-man defense before he ever came to Tarleton last year.
"Coach Mac played for Coach Reisman, so he does a lot of the same things defensively," said Henry. "That kept it from being such a shock when I got to Tarleton and saw how intense the coaches here are when it comes to things like defense and hustle plays."
It's no surprise the award went to a Tarleton player, as the Texans lead the nation in scoring defense. They allowed 70 or more points only once in South Division play, and held opponents below 60 points 10 times in 14 divisional games. They held Midwestern to its lowest point total in 11 years, and held West Texas A&M to its lowest scoring output in Rick Cooper's 18 years as the Buffs' head coach - twice. It's also no surprise Henry was the player selected to represent the nation's best defense. He averaged 1.8 steals and 1.5 charges taken per game while often matching up with either opposing point guards or a foe's top scoring guard. He also happens to lead the Texans in scoring at 13.3 points per game.
The Randallstown, Md. native had perhaps his best defensive performance in arguably Tarleton's biggest win of the regular season, holding LSC Player of the Year Chris Hagan to only six points as the Texans clinched the South title and ended Midwestern's 41-game win streak in a physical 49-47 affair in Wichita falls.
"Hagan is a great player. We've had some good battles, and we might have to have at least one more," said Henry, referring to a potential LSC semifinal match up Saturday afternoon.
Other Texans honored included Reisman, who was named LSC South Coach of the Year after his team dominated the division by four games. Henry was also named to first-team all-conference in the South, while junior forward Wes Dipprey picked up honorable-mention recognition. Wale Ogunoye, who hopes to return from a leg injury during this weeks LSC Championship, was named to the All-Academic team. Ogunoye, a senior forward, is pre-med major from Cedar Hill.
The Texans (22-4), ranked No. 15 in the nation, open conference tournament action against Southwestern Oklahoma State at Bruin Fieldhouse at 8:30 p.m. tonight.
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TexAnns survive opening-round thriller
By BRAD KEITH
Sports Editor
brad.keith@empiretribune.com
No. 18 Tarleton State (24-3) set its record for wins in a season since joining NCAA Division II and the Lone Star Conference in 1994-95, edging Southeastern Oklahoma State (20-7) 63-61 in the opening round of the LSC Basketball Championship at Bruin Fieldhouse Wednesday afternoon. Tarleton advances to face Central Oklahoma in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Friday. UCO blasted Angelo State 76-52 in the first game of the tournament Wednesday. The TexAnns defeated the Bronchos 86-74 in Edmond, Okla. back on Jan. 6.
Tarleton saw a 14-point lead slip away and trailed by one twice in the second half, the last time coming with 44 seconds left when a triple by Southeastern's Whitney Coffey made it 61-60. Tarleton's Shelby Adamson drove to the baseline on the ensuing possession, then bounced a pass to Kiara Wright in the paint. The true freshman was fouled going up with 26 seconds remaining and knocked down both free throws to put Tarleton on top for good.
"Kiara was more nervous than we were," said Adamson. "We all just knew she was going to hit (both free throws). She's played huge all season. She looked like a veteran out there. I never would have guessed she's a freshman."
Kelsey Benford blocked a shot out of bounds on the other end with 10 ticks on the clock, and Southeastern's Nikki Nester traveled after the ensuing inbound pass. It was the Savage Storm's 17th turnover. Lisa parker hit one of two free throws to finish the scoring with five seconds left. When her second shot caromed off the rim, Wright dove to the floor to secure the rebound. She was instantly tied up, but the possession arrow was in Tarleton's favor. The TexAnns inbounded the ball to Parker and time expired before Southeastern had a chance to commit another foul.
"Our defense was the key," said eighth-year head coach Ronnie Hearne. "I think they were averaging 73 (points per game). At our place when they beat us on a last second 3-pointer they had 78. Our defense definitely made the difference.
Adamson led the TexAnns with 19 points, including an 11-12 performance at the free throw stripe.
Senior point guard Sonya Sundberg scored 11 points in her 113th consecutive start for Tarleton. Wright also had 11. Benford scored just four points, but made a significant impact with three blocked shots, two steals and seven boards. Southeastern also had three scorers in double figures as Jessica Hesse had 12 and Bailey Welch and Coffey tallied 10 points and eight rebounds each.
The TexAnns were just 3-18 (16.7 percent) from the arc, but made up for it by going 18-20 (90 percent) at the free-throw stripe with most of them coming off drives by Adamson.
"(Driving) is always part of our game plan," said Adamson. "We weren't hitting our outside shots and that's going to happen sometimes, so you have to have a fallback plan. Luckily, we were able to attack the basket and score in different ways."
Southeastern was only 4-14 from 3-point land and hit 13-20 (65 percent) from the stripe. Tarleton appeared to be in control after a 15-2 run turned an early 9-5 deficit into a 20-11 lead. Ten of the TexAnns' first 12 points came from Adamson. The advantage grew to 12 on a layup by Sundberg and 14 on a basket in the paint by Wright, but the Savage Storm had an answer. A 3-ball by Natalie Rudd got the Southeastern rally started, and Elizabeth Dean scored four of the next six SOSU points in the paint to make it 31-26 at the break.
The second half started with a layup by Coffee, and suddenly it was a 31-28 game after 11 straight Savage Storm points. Coffey tied the game at 32-32 with 17:50 left, and it was tied again at 34-34 just 27 seconds later. The TexAnns went right back to work, scoring 17 of the next 22 points to again lead by double digits. Five different players scored in the run, including Stehling with four on back-to-back field goals to get it kick started. Parker and true freshman Brianna Bledsoe each hit 3-pointers during the stretch and Adamson and Sundberg added two points each.
Southeastern continued the trend of back-and-forth runs, pouring in 13 of the next 15. The Savage Storm later took their first lead since the opening three minutes of the game when a Jasmine Hughey layup made it 57-56 with 4:36 remaining.
Tarleton went back on top on a jumper by Benford, and led by three after a pair of Adamson free throws. Dean hit a charity shot to make it a two point game before Coffey's 3-ball gave Southeastern its last lead. Bledsoe joined Wright as freshmen making a big impact. The former Stephenville High School star had eight points, a pair of rebounds, two assists and two steals in 19 minutes of action.
"Brianna looked like she's been in the conference tournament two or three times," said Hearne. "She certainly didn't look like a freshman. We had nine players play a lot and they all made a difference," Hearne added. "It was a great team win."
Tarleton, which remains No. 2 in the latest South Central Region rankings released Wednesday, avenged its only home loss of the season. Southeastern used a Jasmine Hughey buzzer-beater from near half court to clip the TexAnns 78-77 back on Dec. 2.
Hustlin' Henry earns top defensive honor
By BRAD KEITH
Sports Editor
brad.keith@empiretribune.com
BARTLESVILLE, Okla. - On the wall outside Tarleton State's men's basketball locker room back home in Wisdom Gym hangs what those closest to the program believe is the key to the Texans' success - head coach Lonn Reisman's infamous "hustle board." Senior point guard Corin Henry takes as much pride as perhaps any Texan to play under Reisman in topping the lists on the hustle board - things such as charges taken, tipped balls, number of times a player dives on the floor and other categories one won't find in the official box scores.
Nobody has taken as many charges as Henry, who set Tarleton's single-season record when he was knocked to the floor by a driving opponent for the 39th time in last Saturday's regular-season finale at Angelo State. He passed the 38 player control fouls drawn by Cornell Jones for the 2004-05 Texans that reached the Final Four.
"I take charges to show my team that I will do anything to help us win," said Henry. "It's one of those things that are important even though it doesn't make the stats."
For his efforts, Henry was named Lone Star Conference South Division Defensive Player of the Year at the post season awards ceremony at the Phillips Building Tuesday night.
"I guess it shows I can move my feet a little bit," Henry said with a chuckle. "This honor is a team effort, though, I never would have won it without my teammates."
Henry says playing junior college ball for former Texan Rodney McConnell at Ranger College prepared him for Reisman's intense brand of man-to-man defense before he ever came to Tarleton last year.
"Coach Mac played for Coach Reisman, so he does a lot of the same things defensively," said Henry. "That kept it from being such a shock when I got to Tarleton and saw how intense the coaches here are when it comes to things like defense and hustle plays."
It's no surprise the award went to a Tarleton player, as the Texans lead the nation in scoring defense. They allowed 70 or more points only once in South Division play, and held opponents below 60 points 10 times in 14 divisional games. They held Midwestern to its lowest point total in 11 years, and held West Texas A&M to its lowest scoring output in Rick Cooper's 18 years as the Buffs' head coach - twice. It's also no surprise Henry was the player selected to represent the nation's best defense. He averaged 1.8 steals and 1.5 charges taken per game while often matching up with either opposing point guards or a foe's top scoring guard. He also happens to lead the Texans in scoring at 13.3 points per game.
The Randallstown, Md. native had perhaps his best defensive performance in arguably Tarleton's biggest win of the regular season, holding LSC Player of the Year Chris Hagan to only six points as the Texans clinched the South title and ended Midwestern's 41-game win streak in a physical 49-47 affair in Wichita falls.
"Hagan is a great player. We've had some good battles, and we might have to have at least one more," said Henry, referring to a potential LSC semifinal match up Saturday afternoon.
Other Texans honored included Reisman, who was named LSC South Coach of the Year after his team dominated the division by four games. Henry was also named to first-team all-conference in the South, while junior forward Wes Dipprey picked up honorable-mention recognition. Wale Ogunoye, who hopes to return from a leg injury during this weeks LSC Championship, was named to the All-Academic team. Ogunoye, a senior forward, is pre-med major from Cedar Hill.
The Texans (22-4), ranked No. 15 in the nation, open conference tournament action against Southwestern Oklahoma State at Bruin Fieldhouse at 8:30 p.m. tonight.
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