Box Score

For the past four seasons, the Louisiana College women's basketball program has set the standard for excellence in the American Southwest Conference.
 
Four straight ASC East Division titles have looked somewhat faded this season, however, as the Wildcats have struggled in the new combined conference standings. Coming into Saturday's game with second place, Texas-Dallas, the Wildcats found themselves in unfamiliar territory – fifth place and having to fight just to make the conference tournament.
 
But, all that may have changed. After dropping four-of-five games, the Wildcats have now won two straight after a hard-fought 78-73 double overtime victory over UT-D at H.O. West Fieldhouse.
 
As they look to close the season with a solid run, the Wildcats won in what is now typical LC fashion – by using hustle to overcome their size disadvantage. LC's 19 steals forced 34 UT-D turnovers and translated into 21 points.
 
The  two biggest steals came in the second overtime. After consecutive baskets from LC junior forward Danisha Allison tied the game at 71, the Wildcats' Kaci Willis stole the ensuing pass and pushed the ball ahead to Neka Jones for a layup to put the Cats up for good, 73-71. Skylar Chenevert followed with her eighth steal of the game and turned that into a layup as well. For good measure, Chenevert put the game away with her ninth steal of the game – adding three free throws in the final 30 seconds. The Wildcats closed the overtime with an 11-2 run after falling behind 71-67. They did it by mostly using their now experienced crop of juniors on the court to close things out.
 
"We know that it's not acceptable for us to lose," Willis said. "We're just giving it all we got. Us juniors, we've been there before. After all the two-a-days and four-hour practices, you could tell they were tired. Our hard work paid off. We know how to play to the end."
 
"We're looking more like the teams from the last few years," LC coach Jason Tinsley said. "We're starting to get after it. We're a small team by college basketball standards. We need to use our speed, athleticism and effort to create offense by our defense."
 
Despite getting the win, for a second straight game, the Wildcats had to overcome a sluggish start. LC shot just 36-percent to Dallas' 67-percent in the first half as the Comets led 35-29 at the break.
 
UT-D held that lead through much of the second half before the Wildcats rallied in the game's final 10 minutes. When Chenvert stole the ball and scored with 5:10 left in the game, it gave LC it's first lead since 12:06 in the first half. From that point on, the game was filled with see-saw moments.
 
When Willis hit two straight inside shots, the Wildcats led 63-59 with 2:39 left to play, but the Wildcats would not score for the rest of regulation. Meanwhile, the Comets, down 63-61, stole the ball from LC's Karylon Thornton with 12.8 to play and tied the game on an improbable running shot by Ciara Guilhas as time expired to send the game into its first overtime.
 
LC would score first in the first extra period – a baseline jump shot by Allison just 20 seconds in – the Wildcats' only points of that overtime. Meanwhile, Texas-Dallas tied the game on two free throws by Kimmie Grimes with 1:23 left, and appeared likely to win the game when Amber Brown was fouled by Jones with just 4.5 left. Amazingly, Brown missed both free throws, and the game headed to its second overtime period where the Wildcats would pull away for the win.
 
"It felt like everything was meant to be today," Willis said. "We made mistakes, they made mistakes, but in the end, it was meant to be."
 
"That's where you know the Good Lord had a hand in it," Tinsley said. "He has bigger fish to fry than a basketball game, but He did bless us today."
 
Leading the way for LC in the game was Jones with 14 points. Allison contributed 12 points and 11 big rebounds while Chenevert also finished with 12 points along with her 9 steals. Willis finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists while Karylon Thornton added 11 points. Texas-Dallas was led by Jo'Anna Davis' 16 points who atoned for a mistake in the first half when she accidently shot the ball into LC's basket – two points that were credited to Chenevert.
 
The Wildcats now hit the road for their longest road trip of the season – starting Thursday in Alpine, Texas against Sul Ross State at 5:30 p.m. and Saturday in Seguin against Howard Payne at 1 p.m.
 
"They know their backs are against the wall," Tinsley said. "Without a lot of help, it will be very difficult to win the regular season conference championship. I told them what they're playing for now is seeding. We could finish as high as third or not even get in. They battled their guts out and found a way to win."
 
"We're the team that's been No. 1 in the conference and that makes the NCAA Tournament," Willis said. "We're not used to losing. We're not playing just to get in the conference tournament, we're playing to get in NCAA Tournament. We have the belief that we can do it."