With the help of a 17-2 run to end the first half, No. 1 seed Tarleton State took a close game and blew it open, cruising to a 75-56 win over Eastern New Mexico in the last of four quarterfinal games Thursday at the Allen Event Center.
The victory puts Tarleton in the semifinal round Saturday against fifth-seed Angelo State. The TexAnns, who improved to 21-8, are seeking their first-ever LSC Tournament title.
Tarleton trailed 29-28 with 6:42 remaining in the first half before getting hot from the field.
Sophomore guard Peyton Adamson drained all four of her 3-pointers in the first half and continued to hit shots to finish the game with 16 points. Sophomore forward Kiara Wright was dominant in the paint, scoring 23 points to go along with 11 rebounds. All-LSC first-teamer Shelby Adamson took a backseat in the scoring department with just eight points, but had five rebounds and four assists.
The season comes to an end for ENMU with a 10-17 record. The Zias were led by Precious Herrin, a second-team All-LSC pick, who scored 12 points. Lace Clark also had a dozen points for the Zias, who were outrebounded 39-21.
Another big discrepancy came at the foul line, where the TexAnns shot 29 times, making just 16. ENMU had just seven attempts, making six.
In the first half, the Zias kept it close with hot shooting from beyond the arc, making four 3-pointers, including two by guard Tori Northcutt. But ENMU went cold, missing seven straight shots at one point late in the first half that led to TSU’s game-turning run.
Tarleton notes
• Kiara Wright recorded her eighth double-double of the season and 12th of her career with 23 points and 11 rebounds while making 8-of-10 from the field. She tied her career high in points.
• Tarleton improved to 3-9 all-time in the LSC Tournament and now has a win in each of the past three years at the tournament.
• Peyton Adamson broke the school record for most three-pointers made in a season. She finished the game with 74 trifectas breaking Katie Crawford’s 2005-06 record of 71 in a season.
• Shelby Adamson moved into TSU’s single season top 10 in assists and now has 140 on the season good for ninth in school history.
• This is the 11th consecutive time the TexAnns have defeated Eastern New Mexico.
• Head coach Ronnie Hearne picked up his 170th career win at TSU.
• The Tarleton senior class is now 85-31 during their four years on the court.
• The TexAnns dominated the paint area. They outscored the Zias 28-18 on points in the paint and grabbed 16 more rebounds than the Zias.
ENMU notes
• Eastern New Mexico lost both regular-season matchups to Tarleton State - 78-70 in Portales (1/4/12) and 73-48 in Stephenville (2/15/12).
• The Zias finished 0-2 in neutral-site games during the 2011-12 season. The regular-season loss came to Western State College of Colorado, 68-52, on 11/19/11.
• Senior forward Precious Herrin becomes the 19th all-time scorer in ENMU women's basketball history with a 12-point effort that gives her 834 points in her career as a Zia. In the two previous meetings, she scored 12 and 10 points against the TexAnns.
• It was the lowest number of rebounds for Precious Herrin in a game this season with just 1 board (her previous low had been just 2 rebounds on two occasions - in back-to-back games against West Texas A&M). She averaged 6.4 going into the game.
• Eastern NM has lost 7 straight Lone Star Conference Championship games, dating back to March 1st, 1996, when the Zias lost in the second round of the LSC tournament to Abilene Christian, 103-78. After that, it was all first-round exits for ENMU in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2004. That means they haven't won an LSC championship game for exactly 16 years (3/1/1996 to 3/1/2012).
• This was the first appearance in the LSC tournament for Eastern New Mexico since March 2nd, 2004 (a 77-46 loss to Northeastern State) - almost 8 years to the day.
• This is the 16th time for ENMU to make an appearance at the LSC tournament.
• For first-year coach Lindsey Wilson, this was the first-ever game for her to compete in an LSC Championship as a coach and not a player. She coached the Zias back into the tournament for the first time since 2004 with a 10-16 overall record and an 8-12 LSC record, getting the 8th seed.
Tarleton State Quotes
Ronnie Hearne
Opening Statement
"I'm really proud of my team. Eastern New Mexico is a team that has gotten better this year and has beaten some really good teams. It was a one-point game in the first half and the biggest thing we did was get the ball inside. I thought that was the difference in how we started stretching the lead. We wore them down a little bit. I thought (assistant coach Misty) Wilson rotated her players real well and we started to use our post players."
On facing Angelo State again
"We are real familiar with Angelo State and remember what happened last week. It's fresh in our memory. It will be nice to have a day off tomorrow and watching our men play. An hour and a half is all you need to practice this time of year. We'll get mentally prepared and watch video."
Shelby Adamson
On not being relied on score -- 8 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists
"That was a really good game for me. I love when I don't have to score and just get the ball to my teammates. I absolutely love just getting the ball to my teammates."
On the importance of winning comfortably in the first round
"This gets you a little confidence under your belt to win in this facility. No one else got a win by this much and we were able to use our bench. That will allow us to play that much harder tomorrow."
On facing Angelo State again
"Maybe it could have been best for us to have a loss recently. I didn't enjoy the loss then, but that might have been the best thing for us. It's always good to revenge a loss."
Kiara Wright
On her 23-point, 11-rebound performance
"They always tell me that if there is one person guarding you then go. I just wanted to play well for our seniors."
ENMU Quotes
Eastern New Mexico Coach Lindsey Wilson:
"We played hard for 40 minutes, but they are the conference champs for a reason. We struggled rebounding against them and it showed."
"I'm very proud of our team and the strides we made this season is incredible."
On first battling Tarleton hard in the first half
Eastern New Mexico Coach Lindsey Wilson:
"We gave them too many second chance points. We played defense for 25 seconds, then they'd put up a shot, get the rebound and get a great shot or a three."
On playing the top seed in the tournament
Senior Tori Northcutt:
"We came here knowing we had nothing to lose. We just didn't do what we set out to do and didn't do what we wanted to win."
Head Coach Lindsey Wilson:
"Just getting here was important because everybody said it couldn't be done. We gave Tarleton everything they wanted to for most of the first half. This trip is a building block and gives our underclassmen a taste of interaction with the other teams and where we want our program to go."