WAXAHACHIE, TX - Without two emerging stars Tuesday night, Texas Wesleyan Women's Basketball (10-14, 8-8 SAC) likely would have come away with a victory Tuesday night against the SAGU Lady Lions (17-7, 11-5 SAC). but SAGU's Lexi Rich and Jenna Price combined for 41 points (61 percent of SAGU points) and 16 rebounds (38 percent of SAGU rebounds) in a 67-54 victory over the Lady Rams.
Rich, who leads the conference in scoring and Price, second in the SAC on the glass were the catalysts. TXWES countered with a more balanced attack on all fronts led by
Nicole Gleason's 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal;
Lexi Burns' 10 points and five boards;
Karah Sicurella's eight points off the bench,
Chrystal Ngawuchu's seven points and six rebounds and six points and four assists from
Evie Whorley.
Texas Wesleyan kept pace most of the first half, getting valuable buckets inside with
Tomi Sanchez and
Kyla Grant early in the second quarter but a 10-1 Lady Lions run before halftime proved to be costly.
The Lady Rams scored 10 points in the first four minutes of the third quarter with
Nicole Gleason delivering back-to-back deep shots while Ngawuchu and
Bailey Broadnax went to work inside. Burns nailed back-to-back shots inside before
Karah Sicurella delivered a buzzer-beating shot at the end of the third.
TXWES played one of their best defensive quarters of the season in the fourth, holding the Lady Lions to just seven points on 3-of-11 shooting. SAGU failed to score in the final 3:38, committing three turnovers.
SEASON OUTLOOK
The Lady Rams are a half game ahead of Oklahoma Panhandle State in the No. 7 spot, just two games back of fourth place with six to go. Oklahoma City has surged into the No. 1 seed and securing at least the No. 6 seed would serve any team entering the tournament well, to avoid OCU and Wayland Baptist, both of which are ranked in the top 15 in the national NAIA Coaches' Poll.
WHAT'S NEXT
A playoff-type atmosphere Thursday night against the Southwestern Christian Eagles at 6 p.m. The Eagles are 7-9 in the conference as both teams battle for seeding and the right to play on. The two played a slug-fest in the first meeting with Southwestern Christian coming away with the win. The Lady Rams own the all-time series 7-6 and have won the last two games at the Sid Richardson Center, holding the Eagles to under 60 points in both games.
An Oklahoma and Kansas road trip follows, including games against Langston and Central Christian who are 10th and 11th in the conference standings, respectively.
