McNeese State Women Win Second Straight Southland Tournament Title
ESPN3 REPLAY
By Brandon C. Williams
Southland.org
KATY, Texas -- Redemption found its way toward Caitlyn Baggett on
Friday night, which led to McNeese State finding itself back in the NCAA tournament.
Baggett, who missed a pair of free throws with 17 seconds left,
knocked down a pair with five seconds remaining to give the Cowgirls a 62-58
win over Stephen F. Austin for the school's second consecutive Southland Conference
tournament championship and an automatic bid to next weekend's Big Dance.
"I was extremely grateful. I felt really bad," said Baggett, whose
second chance came courtesy of teammate Kendra Wells pulling down the rebound
following the second missed free throw, setting the stage for Baggett to attack
the basket again.
"I was just so grateful 'Kitty' got that rebound," added Baggett.
Baggett, who finished with 21 points and was named the
tournament's most valuable player, iced the game with two free throws with 0.9
seconds left after an SFA turnover.
The final flurry of free throws from Baggett concluded a wild
final 1:21, which came to pass when Tammara Marion knocked down a 3-pointer
from the left corner that tied the game at 56, capping off an intense second
half in which neither McNeese (26-7) nor SFA (23-9) led by more than four
points.
"It's been a tough journey to get here. The target's been on their
back all year," said Cowgirls coach Brooks Donald-Williams. "I thought they
handled themselves with such composure."
That composure showed itself on the charity stripe, where McNeese
reached the line 19 times compared to just 12 for SFA.
"They did a better job of getting to the line," said Ladyjacks
coach Brandon Schneider, who returned the program to the title game for the
first time since 2007.
The ability to both reach and convert on the line (McNeese made 16
of their 19 attempts) offset a rough night from beyond the arc for the
Cowgirls, who went 4 of 17 from 3-point range. SFA's Amina Sawyer played a key
role in why Ashlyn Baggett and Candace LaCombe were a combined 0 for 8 from
downtown.
"I think if you're playing that team," I'd take 4 for 17," said
Schneider.
McNeese did its most damage outside in the first half, when
Caitlyn Baggett put the offense on her shoulders and hit a trio of 3-pointers
in a stretch in which she scored 13 of the Cowgirls' 15 points. Her final
triple of the half helped stake McNeese to 25-16 lead at the 4:25 mark before a
late spurt by SFA trimmed the lead to 29-24 at intermission.
After missing all 10 of their 3-point attempts in the opening 20
minutes, the Ladyjacks found their range, taking a 40-36 lead at the 14:29 mark
following consecutive treys from Brittany Matthew. The offense then ran
aground, as they managed just Marion's game-tying triple the rest of the way.
"There's no question our defense won this game," said Williams,
whose team allowed SFA to shoot just 39.6 percent from the field.
The Cowgirls will await their destination when the women's bracket
is released on Monday night. No matter where they end up, Williams feels that
the team's non-conference schedule, which included playing the likes of
top-ranked Baylor and defending national champion Texas A&M, has prepared
them to take their best shot against their opening round foe.
"I think we've proved against quality teams this year that we can
play with them," she said. "We're ready to take advantage of a great
opportunity. We want to represent the Southland Conference as best we can, and
I certainly think this group of girls can go do that."
All-Tournament Team
Caitlyn Baggett, McNeese State (MVP)
Ashlyn Baggett, McNeese State
Tammara Marion, Stephen F. Austin
Kendra Wells, McNeese State
Ashlee Mells, Stephen F. Austin
Postgame Quotes
McNeese State head coach Brooks Donald-Williams
Opening statement...
"I am just so proud of this team. It
has been a tough road and a tough journey just to get here. They have had the target
on their back all year, and I thought they handled themselves with such
composure. We take great pride in what we stand for, and that's our defense. I
thought our defense certainly prevailed in this tournament, and we got better
in each game that went on. Our defense won this game tonight."
On the second half...
"Honestly, I think SFA got the same
shots they did in the first half in the second half, but they were just falling
in the second half. SFA is an extremely talented team and they are going to be
great in the future. I thought our girls
really kept their composure. I don't think our girls ever backed down or were
ever scared or worried. I think the kids did a really good job in keeping their
composure in withstanding SFA's run."
Attitude of the team this season...
"This is a real stubborn, and that is
an extremely good attribute to have when you are trying to win a championship
because their stubbornness prevailed tonight."
On the NCAA Tournament...
"We are ready for whatever opportunity
we get, and we want to take advantage of a great opportunity. We want to
represent the Southland Conference as the best we can, and I certainly think
this group of girls can go do that. I don't care where we go. I don't care who
we play. We just want a piece of it.
McNeese State junior guard Caitlyn Baggett
On having the second chance to go to the line in the final seconds...
"I was extremely grateful because I
felt really bad [after missing the first two shots]. I guess I just wasn't
focused. As soon as [Kendra Wells] got the rebound, I knew I was going to
attack again and hopefully get fouled to try to make up for the misses. I was
just so grateful that Kitty [Kendra Wells] got that rebound. I was extremely
happy."
McNeese State junior guard Ashlyn Baggett
On her sister winning the MVP after she won the MVP in last
season's championship...
"It is a great experience. The MVP
award is great, but the ring is the only thing that matters because it is a
team MVP and a shared goal."
Stephen F. Austin head coach Brandon Schneider
Opening statement...
"Attention to detail is often what
separates the champion from near champion. Free throw rebounding is what was
the difference in the last 90 seconds tonight. It was a really hard fought
game. Both teams competed their hearts out, and I could be prouder of our
team's effort. For the most part, I thought we did a lot of good things to give
a chance to win the game."
On the future of Stephen F. Austin basketball...
"I promise you, when you are a
returning player and you are watching balloons drop and they are not for you,
that is a highly motivating factor. We are the only team that had to sit here
and watch them drop. As a young player, hopefully it motivates them to do
everything they can to be back in this position again with an opportunity to be
on the other side of it."
Stephen F. Austin senior guard Tammara Marion
On the missed opportunity...
"It hurts to lose that one because we
played really hard. We just could get the rebound on the missed free throw."