Box Score
ORANGE, Calif. – It came down to the last second but for the first time in school history the Louisiana College Lady Cats can claim to be victors in an NCAA National Tournament game following a thrilling 61-60 win over host school Chapman Friday night.
“I'm just so excited that we were able to get past the first round,” senior Tillisha Givens said. “All of the players from last year, we remember the past and losing in the first round against George Fox (in 2010). We all wanted to prove to the doubters that we could do it.”
First year coach Jason Tinsley was not among those who doubted the Lady Cats' ability to reach previously unattained heights.
“You know, there are only 64 teams out of 400-something that even get into this tournament,” Tinsley said, “and our conference, the American Southwest Conference, is one of the toughest around. So, just getting out of our conference and into this tournament is a big enough accomplishment by itself.
“To get through to the round of 32 is just taking it to another level. Of those 64 teams that got in, 32 are disappointed tonight. But we're not one of them.”
The game taking place so near Hollywood, it seemed appropriate that some drama be involved in the deciding of the contest.
Almost according to script, the late-game hero turned out to be the one player on the LC roster who is a native of the host state.
Shasidy Ludgood, a native of Inglewood, which like Orange is a part of the Los Angles metroplex, took what seemed a sure first-round exit for LC and turned it into victory.
LC trailed 60-59 with just 5.5 seconds to play after Brandi Hood hit a layup in the paint for Chapman.
After LC turned the ball over on the ensuing inbound play, Ludgood raced over to foul Chapman's Emily McCoy, one of the Panthers' top free throw shooters.
When McCoy missed on her 1-and-1 attempt, the 5-foot-2 Ludgood secured the rebound and, in the process, drew a foul from McCoy with just 2.5 seconds to play.
With her home region fans sending up a deafening jeer, Ludgood stroked both of her free throws and, after a Chapman half-court shot went wanting, gave LC the historic win.
“Wasn't that something,” Ludgood asked some 10 minutes after the game. “I think I'm still shaking. That was an amazing win. I knew we weren't going to lose this game, not in my home. This was my home court, in my mind, and I knew we weren't going to fly all the way here and lose, not with our families here, not with our fans here.
“The whole time we were on the bench with five seconds to play, coach was telling us what we needed if she made a free throw, what we needed if she missed. We were all like, 'She is going to miss this free throw. Then she missed it and I just went up and got it. I think I jumped over a teammate to get it. This was a great night.”
Ironically, as games went, it wasn't LC's best performance.
“Make no mistake, it was a hard-fought win,” Tinsley said. “Chapman has a tremendous team that really gets after it. I told the girls before the game that this game would probably come down to who played the hardest. Both teams were chasing down those loose balls and hustling for rebounds. I'll be the first to admit that they got the better of us in some of those categories, but we fought through it and got the win.”
LC (25-3) was outrebounded by the Panthers (22-6) by a count of 45-29 and Chapman garnered one more steal, 13, than LC, but the Lady Cats held the edge in the all-important final score category.
Wilmer scored a game high 18 points to pace the Louisiana College offense with Kayla Guidry putting up 12 off the bench.
Ludgood finished with nine points and Melody Criswell, LC's lone freshman, added eight.
Hood finished as Chapman's top performer, posting a 16-point, 14-rebound double-double.
“It was a great win,” Tinsley said, “but we're only going to enjoy it for however long it takes for us to ride the bus from the gym to our hotel. We've got a big game tomorrow.”
If the late-game drama weren't enough to draw Hollywood parallels from, the Lady Cats' second-round opponent certainly suggests the existence of some hand of fate.
At 9 p.m. Central, the Lady Cats will face No. 23 George Fox, the team that jettisoned them from the tournament last season by a score of 65-49.
“Now that we've got that first win, hopefully our nerves will be better and we can play Louisiana College basketball tomorrow night,” Ludgood said.
