Box Score

WAXAHACHIE, TX:  The Texas Wesleyan University women’s basketball team (25-6) took a 72-68 win over Jarvis Christian College (15-10) in quarterfinal action at the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday.
 
With the win, the Rams have produced back-to-back seasons of at least 25 wins for the first time in program history.
 
The lead changed hands three times in the first half.  The Bulldogs got the better of the early play, quickly doubling up the Rams at 12-6.  Texas Wesleyan rallied to take their first lead at 18-16 on a Nicole Terral three-pointer.  The Rams led by six at 22-16, but Jarvis came back to tie the game at 31 on an Ivory Russell layup and then took a 32-31 lead on a free throw by Marsharae Brown.  In the final minute of the period, Brittany White knocked down a three, the Rams got a defensive stop and Raven Smith scored in the paint to send Texas Wesleyan to the locker room with a 36-32 lead.
 
Both teams shot extremely well in the first half with the Rams hitting at 50% from the floor and Jarvis scoring at 48.1%.  The Rams held commanding leads in rebounding, 22-1, and points in the paint 20-14, but Jarvis hit 4-of-12 long range shots, while the Rams hit 2-of-9.
 
The Rams controlled the pace for much of the second half, leading by as many as eight points 49-41.  However, Jarvis came back to tie the game at 59-59.  The game remained tied at 61, when the Rams scored five unanswered points to regain control.
 
With 19 seconds to play, Dimilesizwe Love nailed a three to bring the score to 69-67.  On the ensuing possession, the Bulldogs forced a turnover and were fouled.  Ivory Russell was injured on the foul and Ebonique Wilson made her first appearance in the game, shooting free throws with a chance to tie the game.  Wilson was good on the first, but missed the second.  White was good for two free throws on the other end.  After a Jarvis miss, Kayla McCray was good for one free throw to cap the scoring at 72-68.
 
For the game, the Rams ousthot the Bulldogs 45.6%-41.2% from the field.  Texas Wesleyan led 34-16 on points in the paint, 45-32 in rebounding, 19-7 in points off of turnovers, and 13-5 in second chance points.  However, the Lady Rams were unable to help themselves at the free throw line where they hit just 46% (16-of-35).
 
White led all scorers with 22 points to go with eight rebounds.  McRay added 16 points and seven rebounds, while Octavia Mullins contributed eight points and 12 rebounds.
 
Jarvis was led by Love’s 21 points.  Marsharae Brown added 17 points and 15 boards in the effort.
 
With the win, Texas Wesleyan advances to Saturday’s semifinal round where they will meet second seeded LSU-Shreveport at 1:00 p.m. in Southwestern Assemblies of God University’s Schaefer Full Life Center.