Todd Ryals

Lady Wildcats Headed Back to Title Game

2/24/2017 11:10:00 PM

By: LC Sports Information

Box Score

For the first time since the 2013 season, the Louisiana College Lady Wildcats basketball team will play for the American Southwest Conference Championship. One night after taking down tournament host Howard Payne University, the Wildcats used stiff defense, clutch shooting, and Rachel Johnson to take down ASC power University of Texas at Tyler in Friday's Semi-Final, 85-79. The freshman from Shreveport scored a career best 29 points in the win, with a 7-for-8 second half shooting effort. LC will take on ASC Eastern Division Champion University of Texas-Dallas Comets in the title game Saturday night at 6 p.m.

The Wildcats jumped out to an early 5-0 lead after a 3-ball from Brooke Comeaux, but that lead quickly went away on a 6-0 Patriots run, putting them up by a point just over three minutes into the game. LC went back on top a minute later thanks to a layup from Brooke Jones, and held the lead the rest of the first quarter, holding a six-point lead, 20-14, after the Patriots' Michelle Obach and the Wildcats Rachel Johnson traded 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds of the quarter.

LC stretched their lead to 11 quickly in the second quarter, scoring seven of the first nine points of the period, four coming from Kourtney McGhee and three from Rachel Johnson. The Wildcats held a 27-16 advantage for the next four minutes of play as neither team could buy a basket, until Johnson knocked down a jumper with just over two minutes to go. The final dagger of the half came at the buzzer, after the Patriots missed a layup with two seconds left, allowing enough time for Rachel Johnson to bring the ball across half court and hit the buzzer beater to give LC a 37-20 lead at the break.

The combination of tight defense and keeping the UTT shooters from getting open, easy looks at the basket led to a 22.6 shooting percentage in the first half from the field for the Patriots, compared to the Wildcats 41.7 percent performance.

The Patriots, however, would come out on fire in the third quarter cutting the Wildcats 19-point lead early in the third down to a single baskets with a barrage of shots from behind the arc. In the first four minutes of the third quarter UTT made four of five shots from downtown to chip away at the Wildcats lead. The Patriots got within a basket on a 9-2 run mid way through the quarter, but LC scored eight straight to extend their lead and weather the storm to hold 57-52 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Rachel Johnson knocked down two of her three shots from behind the arc in the quarter in the first two minutes of the fourth, to give LC a 63-56 lead. UTT made a 7-3 run to the mid way point of the fourth to get within three points of LC. Tyler missed a three-pointer that would have tied the game just before the quarter media timeout, and LC was able stretch their lead back to seven with a pair of free throws from McGhee and a layup by Zharian Maxmillion.

Every time Tyler would put a string of shots together to try and climb back on top, the Wildcats answered with clutch shooting of their own down the stretch. LC made 8-of-12 shots from the floor in the fourth quarter and hit 3-of-4 from behind the arc, for a 66.7 shooting percentage over the final 10 minutes, preventing the Patriots from being able to regain control of the game. They were able to seal the game by making five free throws in the final minute to earn them a spot in the conference championship game.

Freshman Rachel Johnson had the game of her life when it mattered most for the Wildcats, scoring 29 points on 11-of-19 shooting and going 6-of-10 from three point range. Brooke Jones recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Zharian Maxmillion and Kourtney McGhee each finished with double digit point totals in the game.

LC advances to their fifth ASC Championship Game in school history, the last appearance coming in 2013. That year the Wildcats fell to UT Dallas 67-63 on the same floor that the two teams will play on Saturday night in Brownwood. This year's rematch of the 2013 championship game will tip off at 6 p.m. with the winner earning the ASC automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament. LC is in search of its second conference championship and second trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Watch the ASC Women's Basketball Championship Game live beginning at 6 p.m. at www.hpusports.com.

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