ALLEN – Tarleton is heading to the NCAA tournament after earning an automatic bid by winning the Lone Star Conference tournament championship.

The TexAnns came back from a 17-point first quarter deficit to take down defending champion Angelo State, 80-78, on Sunday at the Allen Event Center. The NCAA selection show is tonight at 9 p.m. to determine what seed the TexAnns will be for the South Central Regional Championship, which will take place March 10-13 at the site of the No. 1 seed.

It's the second LSC tournament championship in program history and the first since 2012. The TexAnns became the fifth team in LSC history to win multiple tournament championships.

The TexAnns had as bad of a start as they could have imagined, falling behind 25-8 in the first eight minutes of the game. But the TexAnns chipped away at the lead one possession at a time to get back into the game. In fact, after being outscored by 11 in the first quarter, the TexAnns won the next three quarters against the Rambelles.

After trailing by 11 with 3:30 to go in the first half, Tarleton closed the quarter on a 9-3 run, highlighted by five points from Mackenzie Hailey. The TexAnns trailed 38-33 at the break, but the felt the momentum beginning to shift.

Tarleton came out of the locker room on fire to start the third quarter, with Tiara Tatum starting a 7-0 run with a midrange jumper followed by Hailey's layup and 3-pointer to give the TexAnns their first lead of the game at 40-38. It was the start of a wild, back-and-forth third quarter that featured 10 lead changes and five ties.

For every Angelo State bucket, the TexAnns had an answer. After Christina Robinson hit a 3-pointer for Angelo State to go up 49-47, Bailey Wipff responded with a 3-pointer of her own to take the lead right back. Wipff and the TexAnns were tied after three quarters at 56-56.

Ikpeaku Iwobi and Tatum gave the TexAnns a four-point lead after two straight buckets to open the fourth quarter. Iwobi and Tatum each had 11 points in the second half, with Iwobi, who was named LSC All-Tournament, finishing with 17 points and seven rebounds and Tatum scoring 15 points to go with four boards.

Hailey has made a lot of big shots for the TexAnns this season, but none were bigger than her go-ahead jumper to give the TexAnns a 75-73 lead with 1:36 left. Hailey's 23-point performance in the title gave her the LSC tournament Most Valuable Player award.

Tatum's 3-pointer on the ensuing possession was the dagger, giving the TexAnns their largest lead at five points with under a minute to play. In a fitting end to the win, as Angelo State began to foul to put the TexAnns at the free throw line, it was senior Bailey Wipff who stepped to the line in the final seconds and made a free throw for a two-possession lead and clinch the win. Wipff earned LSC All-Tournament honors 18 points and five rebounds.

This is Tarleton's first NCAA tournament appearance since 2013-14 where they advanced to the second round of the regional tournament.