SAN ANGELO – Sally Walling Brooks earned her 400th career victory as a head coach with a 54-47 Angelo State win over Eastern New Mexico on Wednesday in a Lone Star Conference game at Stephens Arena in the Junell Center.

“She hasn't even mentioned it to us,” said Lauren Holt, who recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. “But we knew in our hearts that we needed to go out and get it for her.”

The Belles (8-10, 5-7 LSC) snapped a three-game losing streak in the process and earned a season-sweep of the Zias (3-17, 2-10 LSC). Coach Brooks has now won 245 games at Angelo State to go along with 155 victories while coaching at Incarnate Word.

“I'm glad we got the win and hopefully this will help us build our confidence,” said Brooks, who becomes the 47th Division II coach to win 400 games and only the 21st active coach to reach the milestone. “I wish we would have played better offensive, but we did play well defensively and we rebounded the ball. We were hesitant offensively and we need to get past that moving forward.”

Haylee Oliver matched Holt with 15 points and also added four rebounds and three assists against the Zias who fall to 1-10 on the road this season. Karli Kellermeier contributed eight points and four rebounds, while Leah LeMaire had nine points and five rebounds. ASU outscored ENMU 12-4 on second-chance points and made 14 of 21 free throws in the second half.

 “It was a huge win,” Holt said. “We have been working so hard in practice and we needed to see it pay off for us with a win. It wasn't as pretty as we wanted, but there were some things that we can build on for the next game.”

Angelo State and Eastern New Mexico were tied at 18 at halftime before the Belles went on a 14-4 run to open the second half. The Zias pulled to within three points at 43-40 on a Nelsha Peterson jumper with 4:27 remaining the game, but would not get any closer as the Belles withstood the comeback attempt. A Holt 3-pointer with two minutes remaining pushed the score to 46-40 to reestablish command.

Tara Johnson led the Zias with 16 points, while Peterson had 12 points and Taylor Collier six points and eight rebounds. ENMU did not score a basket for the first six minutes of the game before rallying to take an 11-10 lead with 7:27 left in the first half. A Kellermeier jumper with 3:15 remaining in the first half gave the Belles the lead back at 14-13 and despite the game being tied on an Alexa Candelaria 3-pointer with 36 seconds remaining in the first half, ASU would not trail the rest of the game.

Angelo State returns to action at 4 p.m. on Saturday against West Texas A&M in Canyon. The Belles earned a 77-71 double-overtime win over the Lady Buffs in the first meeting of the season between the two teams on Dec. 1.
 



Former Player Reaction

“I was here for four years and played under and I think she has developed me into the person I am today.” – Camille Perkins, former Belle from 2008-2011

“It is awesome being able to say I played under and that she has had so much success here at ASU. I am really proud and excited for her.” – Paige Weishuhn, former Belle from 2009-2012

“I remember her coaching and myself being in high school and coming to watch the games. I think it speaks volumes to what she has done with the program. I think she has built a program and it shows.” – Alix Flores, former Belle from 2007-2011

“I am extremely happy for Coach Brooks she deserves every bit of it,” Kami Williamson, former Belle from 2000-03 said. “I am proud to be a part of the tradition and the Belle program.”
“It is definitely very exciting,” Sharon Ballenger Beam, current San Angelo Lakeview girl's basketball coach and former Belles player from 2002-05 said. “Sally is a very good coach. I have learned a lot from her and I use a lot of things that she taught me from playing for her and now being able to talk to her now. It shows you she is a coach that knows how to win.” 

“It is amazing to be a part of that,” Kelli Anne Goble, former Belle guard from 2001-04 said. “Coach Brooks has been an instrumental part of the Belle program and she has brought a lot and it is great to see that tradition keep building and it is great to be a piece of her 400 wins.”