Box Score
A 37-year old record fell Saturday as the Louisiana College Wildcats bounced back from a Thursday loss to Howard Payne with their most lopsided win ever.
 
In getting a 121-34 win over Sul Ross State at H.O. West Fieldhouse, the Wildcats, now 8-3 overall, 6-2 in the American Southwest Conference, set a new school record for largest margin of victory. Their 87-point win broke the previous record of 79 that stood since November of 1976 when LC defeated Dallas Baptist 109-36.
 
"I've been in their situation before," LC coach Jason Tinsley said. "I know what it's like when it's tough to get a win."
 
Tinsley was referring to his time as coach at UNC-Pembroke when his team went 3-25 in his first season – including a 17-game losing streak. Sul Ross' 14-person roster this season is made up of 10 freshmen, and for the Lobos, it was the fifth time they've given up more than 100 points to an opponent as they fell to 1-12 on the season.
 
As the score indicated, the Wildcats dominated every area of the game, but perhaps just as impressive, following a 74-25 halftime lead, the LC defense held the Lobos to only nine points in the second half on 3-for-32 shooting. For the game, Sul Ross finished a lowly 12-for-65 (19-percent). The LC bench out-scored the Lobos 72-16.
 
"I told them at halftime, if you play by the score and stop rebounding and playing defense, you'll have to answer for it in practice," Tinsley said. "It was a positive game for us."
 
As the saying goes, if this were a prize fight, they would have stopped it early as the Wildcats blew the doors off the Lobos in a 10-minute stretch that decided the game in the first half.
 
After jumping out to a 27-16 lead, the Wildcats outscored Sul Ross 38-3 to increase that lead to 65-19 with 2:50 left in the first half. LC led 74-25 at the break. Though there is no record recorded for points scored in a half for LC women's basketball, the Wildcats built their impressive lead with a combination of stifling defense and some of their best shooting of the season.
 
The first half saw the Wildcats force 21 turnovers off which they scored 34 points. The Cats hit 28-of-54 field goals (52-percent) including 12-of-24 from 3-point range.  They finished the game shooting 48-percent, out-rebounding the Lobos 71-37, and forcing 31 turnovers they converted into 41 points.
 
"I told them before the game, let's work on the things that we need to work on to improve as a team," Tinsley said. "It wasn't so much about this team, but the teams we'll be facing next."
 
Leading the LC offense was junior Neka Jones who scored 16 points in the first half and 18 for the game. Freshman Karli West from Fairview High School had her best game to date for LC as she scored 13 in the first half and finished with 19, including 5-of-10 3-pointers. Fellow freshman Baylie Butler of Hemphill, TX also added five 3-point baskets on her way to a 17-point game.
 
"I shoot a lot," West said. "Coach says I shoot too much, but I keep on shooting, and my teammates help me keep my confidence up."
 
"They're similar players," Tinsely said of his two freshmen. "Both of them need to get a whole lot stronger before they get major minutes playing. It's not just shooting, it's defense and rebounding."
 
The Wildcats know they won't have it as easy Monday when they host Mississippi College at 5:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Choctaws, playing in the final season as members of the ASC, knocked off the same Howard Payne team, 82-67, that beat LC Thursday to improve to 4-4 in league play. But, the Wildcats will have a much better feeling heading into the game than they did after Howard Payne.
 
"After the way we played Thursday, we needed a win like this one," West said. "We know we have a big game Monday, and how we played today is how we need to play Monday."