Lady Pilots Remain in First after Ninth Straight Win
January 28, 2012
FORT WORTH, Tex. - The LSU Shreveport Lady Pilots went into the Sid Richardson Center on Saturday afternoon and did what no other visiting team had done in the last 23 tries, they defeated the Texas Wesleyan Lady Rams by a final score of 56-46 in overtime."We kept battling on the defensive end and got some fast break opportunities off misses. Neither team shot the ball great but it had something to do with both teams playing great defense," said LSUS head coach Ronnie Howell.
LSUS (15-5, 13-1 RRAC) contested the outside shot better in the second half which caused Lady Rams (15-4, 10-3 RRAC) to cool off from the field to shoot 31% for the game. LSUS finished the game with a total of 18 steals as Jenna Diakos, Christy Willis and Sharde Henry each had four steals a piece.
Texas Wesleyan (15-4, 10-3 RRAC) looked to be in control of the game with the start of the second half but the LSUS played stellar defense and they could not get shots off like they did in the first half making it difficult to maintain their lead.
The Lady Pilots picked up the pace in the second half to rally to tie the game and send it into overtime for the second time this season against the Lady Rams. LSUS slowly chipped away at the Lady Ram's lead as they were able to trim it down to five following a Willis three-pointer with 8:03 to play as the home team still had the lead 42-37.
LSUS took their first lead of the contest with 2:47 to play in the game after Willis nailed one from downtown lifting her team to a 44-42 lead and momentum heading into the last minutes of regulation. Willis had eight of the Lady Pilots' 12 points in a 12-0 run in the second half to complete the comeback.
Texas Wesleyan tied the game with 30 seconds to play giving the Lady Pilots a chance to win it on the final trip down the floor but they could not convert sending the game into overtime.
The overtime period saw missed three's and jumpers but also saw the Lady Pilots outscore the Lady Rams 10-0 for the win. LSUS had a four-point lead with a minute to play in overtime when the Lady Rams decided it was time to foul and make the Lady Pilots convert from the charity stripe and they did. LSUS converted six free-throws in a row with four from Meoshi Bradley and a pair from Sharde Henry.
Henry tied for the game-high 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for her third double-double of the season while Willis totaled 13 key points and Bradley and Diakos joined the double-digit efforts each with 10 points for the Lady Pilots.
The Lady Rams had just two with double digit points as Kristi Alexander tied Henry with 14 while Nicole Terral had 10. The Lady Pilots were able to maintain Octavia Mullins as she only had two points but pulled down 11 rebounds.
TWU scored the first points of the game immediately followed by a long range two-point jumper from the Lady Pilot's Sharde Henry to tie the game but the Lady Rams then went on a 10-0 run to distance themselves from the Lady Pilots. Texas Wesleyan shot 43% from the field in the first half for an eight-point lead at the break.
The Lady Pilots struggled from the field in the first half shooting just 29% (9-31) but was able to stay in the game with some stellar defense with eight steals forcing a total of 11 turnovers.
LSUS will continue their quest to maintain the top spot in the RRAC standings on Monday night at The Dock against Our Lady of the Lake at 5:30 p.m.
