BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – The Tarleton women's basketball team will go where no TexAnn team has gone before on Saturday, March 6, when Tarleton plays Northeastern State in the women's semifinals of the Lone Star Conference Championship at Bruin Field House in Bartlesville, Okla.
The TexAnns (23-5) find themselves in unfamiliar territory after defeating Texas Woman's, 71-66, in the first round of the tournament at Bruin Field House on Thursday. Tarleton head coach Ronnie Hearne says that will not get in the way of their game tomorrow.
“I think getting that first game out of the way was an important step for us,” Hearne said. “Our girls now can come out a little more relaxed. We will be more settled and we can play like we are capable of playing. We had a lot of emotions on the court yesterday and I think we will be more poised tomorrow.”
The RiverHawks (25-5) are the No. 1 seed in the LSC North Division and are coming off an 85-76 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville on Thursday as well. Jasmine Wright led NSU with 22 points coming off the bench and Kendra Dean added 15 points off the bench as well. LSC's North Division Player of the Year, Jasmine Webb, was limited to just 12 points, despite logging in a team-high 34 minutes on the day.
The TexAnns and RiverHawks met earlier in the season with Tarleton picking up a 14-point win over NSU in Stephenville. NSU led by four points at the break and increased its lead to 36-29 with 11:52 left to play in the second period, but the TexAnns turned the tables – going on an 18-3 run over the next six minutes to take a 47-39 lead. Tarleton remained in control over the final five minutes of play and came away with a 56-42 win over the RiverHawks.
“NSU is not the same team we met back in December,” Hearne said. “They are much improved, but at the same time I think we are a much more improved team as well.”
Tarleton snapped a three-game losing streak to NSU with the win in Stephenville earlier on the season. It was just Tarleton's fifth win over the RiverHawks and NSU still leads the all-time series 8-5. Saturday's game will be the first neutral site game between the TexAnns and RiverHawks.
Saturday's tip-off at Bruin Field House is set for noon. Fans can listen live by tuning into KSTV (93.1 FM) or may watch via web cast from the LSC.
