Texan Mosaic

The South Plains College women’s basketball team came away with two victories in their final home games of the season.

The Lady Texans clinched a share of the Western Junior College Athletic Conference championship after blowing out Clarendon College 82-56 on Feb. 25 at Texan Dome.   

“It’s just a continued group effort from the first day that everyone arrived on campus to do the little things right,” said Cayla Petree, head women’s basketball coach at SPC, after earning a conference championship. “Commitment to defense, a commitment to rebounding and on the offensive end, value in the basketball, not turning the ball over, eliminating those little mental errors, those little ‘my bads’ that get you beaten in the long run, and then a commitment to shot selection.”   

The last time the team won a WJCAC conference title was in 2013 under head coach Michelle Wyatt.

The No. 3-ranked Lady Texans have a chance to secure the conference title for themselves alone against Odessa College on Feb. 28 in the last game of the regular season.

SPC went into intermission with an eight-point lead after shooting 38.9 percent from the field, while holding Clarendon to just 25.9 percent shooting.

With 1:30 remaining in the third quarter, SPC utilized an 18-0 run during the next eight minutes to extend the lead to 25 with 3:49 remaining in the game.

SPC went on to lead by as many as 26 points in the second half. With the victory, the Lady Texans moved to 27-2 on the year and 12-1 in conference play.

Sophomore Gabbie Green poured in 24 points, six assists, and three steals, knocking down 8-of-14 shots from the field and going 3-for-5 from the three-point line. Sophomore Keke Hunter recorded a double-double with 17 points and 16 rebounds. She hit five of her eight shots from the field and was 7-for-13 from the free-throw line.

Freshman Sarah Shematsi chipped in 19 points and six rebounds on 6-for-15 shooting from the field and hit three 3-pointers. Chantel Govan tossed in eight points on 3-for-7 shooting from the field and was 2-for-3 from behind the three-point arch.

Freshman Ruth Koang added 10 points to go along with three rebounds and three blocks, going 4-for-6 from the field and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.

The Lady Texans out-rebounded Clarendon 41-20 and shot 46.7 percent from the floor, while holding Clarendon to only 34.5 percent shooting.

SPC trounced Western Texas College 75-52 on Feb. 18 at Texan Dome, improving to 26-2 on the year and 11-1 in conference play.

Hunter led all scorers in the contest, knocking down seven of her 10 shots from the floor and hitting eight free throws. Hunter also recorded a double-double with 16 rebounds to go along with her 22 points. Green poured in 17 points on 6-for-15 shooting from the floor, also hitting 4-of-4 shots from the free-throw line, to go along with seven rebounds and eight assists.

Shematsi added 13 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the field. She also pulled down five rebounds and had three assists. Nyah Morris dropped in 11 points, while Romola Dominguez scored five points. Morris shot 4-for-11 from the field, hitting three shots from behind the three-point arch. Dominguez hit two of her three shots from the field and was 1-for-1 from the three-point line.

The Lady Texans will compete in the 2019 NJCAA Region V tournament, which will be held on March 6 – March 9 on the campus of Abilene Christian University in Abilene. The tipoff for the first game is set for 1 p.m. on March 6. The tournament features the top four teams from the WJCAC competing with the top four teams from the Northern Junior College Athletic Conference.