Lamar Gets By UT Arlington, 70-61, to Reach Championship Game
By Brandon C. Williams
Southland.org
KATY, Texas - Every time UT Arlington worked their way back into Thursday's women's semifinal game, the Lamar Cardinals were waiting with an answer of their own.
The fifth-seeded Mavericks pushed the top-seeded Cards for most of the game, but Ashley Crawford's 3-pointer with 2:30 remaining provided Lamar with a final response to UTA's upset bid in a 70-61 win at Merrell Center. The win boosted the Cardinals' record to 25-7 overall and earned them a date against third-seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday night for the tournament title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
"That was the biggest basket of her career," said Lamar coach Larry Tidwell of Crawford's trey, which gave the Cardinals a 66-59 lead. "I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of her."
Crawford, who has had two knee surgeries, helped ice the win with a pair of free throws with 42 seconds left.
Lamar led by as many as 12 points in the first half before the Mavericks stormed back to take the lead and held a seven-point edge early in the second half, but could not stop a determined UTA team eying an upset.
UT Arlington (15-16) shook off an opening 8-0 run from Lamar and twice held the lead, but were unable to get the clutch shot or defensive stop to swing the momentum in their favor.
The Mavericks kept the Cardinals off the scoreboard for a stretch of 4:09 midway in the first half, allowing them to go on an 8-0 run that was capped by Nicole Terral's basket which gave them a 26-24 lead at the 4:41 mark. Terral came off the bench to replace a foul-riddled Shalyn Martin and provided the Mavs with 12 points in 28 minutes.
"I thought our kids fought hard," said Mavericks coach Samantha Morrow. "If we had a break or two, who knows what happens."
Lamar received a scare when Southland Conference Player of Year Jenna Plumley rolled her ankle on the foot of a Mavericks player. She went to the sidelines to re-tape her ankle and came back to play the final four minutes.
The injury to Plumley (14 points, eight assists, four steals) opened the door for Darika Hill to step up and deliver. With their leader temporarily on the sidelines, Hill came through with two huge baskets, including a jumper with 1:20 remaining that helped seal the win.
"This was a game of runs, and in the end, we just finished," said Tidwell. "The reason we've won 25 games is that we have finishers."
Hill's 20 points and 10 rebounds helped the Cardinals finish the Mavericks, who took their last lead at 54-53 on Meghan Nelson's layup with 8:39 left.
The lead lasted all of 74 seconds, as Trashanna Smith (13 points, seven rebounds, four assists) converted a basket that gave Lamar a 55-54 toehold they would not relinquish.
Friday's championship game will mark the third time Lamar and A&M-Corpus Christi face off this season. The two split in the regular season, with the Cardinals gaining a 69-63 home win on Jan. 20; the Islanders handed Lamar their worst loss in conference play in a 79-64 victory on March 3.