Second Chance, Second Dance; UTSA Repeats as Southland Champs
KATY, Texas ? Onika Anderson scored 18 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as No. 2 seed UTSA upset No. 1 UT Arlington, 74-63, to claim its second consecutive State Farm Southland Conference Basketball Tournament championship Saturday at the Merrell Center.
Named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player in large part for her efforts on the offensive glass in the final, Anderson and the Roadrunners have won an automatic bid into the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championships which begin on March 21. The Mavericks will also continue their season in the Women’s NIT on March 18 after clinching an automatic bid by virtue of their regular season conference title.
Joining Anderson, who had an impressive nine offensive boards against the Mavericks, on the State Farm Southland Conference All-Tournament Team were fellow Roadrunners Monica Gibbs and Jordan Stark and UT Arlington’s Candice Champion and Shalyn Martin.
The reigning champions didn’t clinch their second title until late in the second half following a UT Arlington run that cut what had been a 15-point deficit down to just 61-59 after a Tamara Simmons three-point shot with 5:13 remaining. From that point on Gibbs, the regular season Player of the Year, took over from the point and hit a layup-and-one and another jumper to push the lead back to seven points. Stark, who set a tournament record for three-pointers made (7) and attempted (16), Amber Gregg and Gibbs added five more points on free throws to give UTSA an 11-2 run and a 72-61 lead it would hold for the remainder of the game.
UT Arlington’s second-half run nearly put the top-seeded team back on top for the first time since the opening minutes of the game. Down 49-34, the Mavericks used strong performances from Martin and Simmons to get within two points for the first time since 16:37 remained in the first half.
The Roadrunners, who led for virtually the entire first half, held a 32-27 advantage heading into the half. Both teams traded baskets for a majority of the opening 20 minutes after UTSA jumped out to a 15-8 lead on a jumper by Gibbs, who along with Stark, had nine points in the frame. Anderson added eight points and eight rebounds in the opening half.
UT Arlington also had a pair of nine-point first-half scorers in Martin, who also had six rebounds, and Tamara Simmons. The Mavericks’ took their only lead of the day after Simmons opened the scoring with a triple from the wing 30 seconds into the game. A pair of free throws from Champion quickly pushed the lead to 6-2, but UTSA immediately went on an 11-0 run and controlled the pace of play through halftime.
Stark led all scorers with 23 points while Gibbs, who had nine rebounds and six assists, tallied 19 and Gregg contributed 12 to go along with Anderson’s double-double. Martin led the Mavericks with 18 points and nine rebounds while Erin Dixon and Tamara Simmons added 16 apiece.
UTSA will learn of its seeding during the NCAA Women’s Basketball Selection Special on ESPN on Monday at 6 p.m.