Box Score STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton State knocked off its second South Central regional power in the last three days Friday night with a dominating 81-62 victory over the Fort Lewis College Skyhawks on the first day of the TexAnn Tip-Off Classic present by Whataburger.
Friday's victory over Fort Lewis, last season's No. 8 seed in the NCAA regional tournament, follows up Wednesday night's overtime victory against St. Mary's, the No. 5 seed in last season regional playoffs.
The scoring started with five straight points by the Skyhawks after neither team was able to get on the board over the first 3:38. Tarleton finally got the offense started with a wide-open 3-ball from the top of the key by Kathy Thomas at the 15:45 mark.
After two minutes of back-and-forth possessions,
Brianna Bledsoe drilled a 3-ball to start a 6-0 Tarleton run and give the TexAnns a lead they would not relinquish.
Fort Lewis kept things close over most of the first half as the TexAnn lead was down to four with just over four minutes to play, but
Shanae Lowrance connected for a layup that started a 12-4 Tarleton run over the rest of the half to send the TexAnns into the break with a 39-27 lead.
Tarleton got the second half started with a tip-in bucket from
Kiara Wright that started a 5:50, 17-8 TexAnn run to give Tarleton a 21-point lead. Tarleton cruised over the rest of the second half en route to the win.
Wright led the team with 22 points and 14 rebounds for her 16
th straight game with a double-double dating back to last season. The senior was 8-12 from the floor and 6-9 from the charity stripe.
Kathy Thomas was the only other TexAnn in double figures with 13 despite dealing with foul trouble most of the night.
Brianna Bledsoe (9),
Meagan O'Dell (8),
Shanae Lowrance (7) and
Ikpeaku Iwobi (7) were closest to Thomas in scoring.
Tarleton had five players make their season debuts Friday night – with four of them getting into the action for the first time as collegiate athletes.
The TexAnn Tip-Off Classic presented by Whataburger will conclude tomorrow night when the TexAnns host Lubbock Christian, who defeated Texas Woman's 88-66 in the first game of the tournament. Tip off between the TexAnns and Lady Chaps is set for 5 p.m.
