Strong second half surges Lady Pilots past Wiley
February 23, 2012
MARSHALL, Tex. - The LSU Shreveport Lady Pilots overcame 17 turnovers in the first half as they soared in the second half blazing the nets making half their shots in route to a 72-63 win over the Wiley College Lady Wildcats on Thursday night at Alumni Gym.
After making only six field goals for 23 percent in the first half only the 16 free throws kept the Lady Pilots within striking distances as they trailed 36-28 at the half. The tides turned in the second half for the Lady Pilots as they increased their shooting from the field and was as equally impressive from the charity stripe make 16 more in 19 attempts to finish at 74% from the free-throw line.
The strong second half helped the LSUS finish with three scorers in double figures as Sharde Henry led all scorers with 26 points and added 15 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season. Jenna Diakos and Meoshi Bradley each tossed in 10 points.
With each team having off-shooting nights thanks to stellar defense, the Lady Pilots won the battle on the boards 53-45 finishing just two rebounds shy of the single-game record of 55 set back in 2006 but for now that record still stands. Jennifer Hicks pulled down a dozen rebounds while Diakos grabbed eight. Each LSUS player that saw playing time had at least one board.
Wiley shot just 23% in the second half as the Lady Pilots stepped up defensive game as they finished with three double-digit scorers after having an eight-point lead at the break. LaTika Smith, the only starter in double figures, led the squad with 13 points while Shantae Huins tossed in 11 quick points in only 16 minutes. Kinnidia Purdy had 10.
The Lady Wildcats did not have one player with double-digit rebounds as everyone who played at least four minutes had at least one.
LSUS led for the first few minutes of the contest but then Wiley took the lead until the Lady Pilots finally regained the lead with eight minutes to go in the contest after a two-point bucket from Willis with 8:04 to play. The visitors would lead the rest of the way stretching their lead to as much as 10-points matching the largest lead held by Wiley in the first half.
LSUS remains in second in the regular season RRAC standings with one game to play. The Lady Pilots will play host to Texas College on Monday night at 5:30 at The Dock while the conference leading and no. 9 Langston has to travel to San Antonio to meet Our Lady of the Lake. With a LSUS win and a Langston loss the two would be named Co-Champions of the regular season while Langston would get the no. 1 seed for the RRAC Tournament leaving LSUS with the no. 2 spot. If both teams have the same outcome then Langston would be the regular season champion and the Lady Pilots would have a second place finish.
