LUBBOCK, Texas – The Angelo State women's basketball team earned its third NCAA Division II Tournament win and the first since 2004-05 with a 71-61 win over Colorado Mines on Thursday night at the Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock, Texas.
The Belles are now 23-7 and will advance to the NCAA South Central Regional Semifinals for just the third time in program history. ASU will face The No. 1 seed in the South Central Region and No. 1 ranked team Lubbock Christian on Friday, March 11 at 7:30 p.m. Colorado School of Mines ends the season with a 21-7 record.
"I thought Colorado School of Mines played remarkably well," Angelo State head women's basketball coach Kevin Baker said. "They were very prepared for what we do and what we try to do. I was really impressed with how they played and what they did. We will take the NCAA tournament win anyway that we can get it, even if it is not as pretty as we would like it. It's the first time that ASU advances in 11 years and we couldn't be prouder."
Angelo State struggled shooting hitting only 30.1-percent from the field and 18.5-percent from the 3-point line. The Orediggers sank 10 three points (47.6-percent) and out rebounded ASU 48-47. The Belles manufactured their scoring from the free throw line hitting 22-for-26 from the line. ASU scored 24 points off 22 offensive rebounds and 14 points off 16 turnovers.
"In the first half we played their style of basketball," Baker said. "The staff talked about it at halftime and we really needed to pick up the pace, because we were playing a little too slow for us. Our main goal after the half was to come out and make the adjustment to speed the game up whether it was a full court press in zone or whether it was full court man-to-man, we needed to find a way to hurry and rush them and make them a little bit uncomfortable. I thought our team did a really good job turning up the heat and taking a very methodical and well coached team out of their game."
Taylor Dorsey scored a team high 30 points and nine rebounds while Jasmine Prophet chipped in 20 points and eight rebounds. Prophet was perfect from the charity stripe going 8-for-8. Brea Mitchell was close to a double-double with nine point and nine rebounds.
The jitters were on display for the Belles early as ASU missed its first five shots before Dorsey hit a layup to tie the game at the 8:03 mark. Colorado Mines took advantage of the slow start and built a 14-7 lead on a 10-2 run. The defense clamped down and held CSM to just two points over the final 4:41 of the first quarter. ASU would score nine points with Dorsey scoring the last five points of the quarter to tie the game at 16. Dorsey's 3-pointer was the first of the game for ASU.
The second quarter was better with the Belles scored the first nine points of the quarter. Mitchell found a grove making five of the nine points to put ASU up 25-16. The Orediggers three point shooting kept it close with two three pointers to trim the nine point lead down to 27-22. The cold shooting continued as ASU went scoreless for 3:22 seconds. CSM cut the lead to 27-25 until the scoreless streak ended wihte a jumper from Mitchell. ASU was down 30-29 with 57 second to go but Dorsey drained a 3-pointer from the corner to put the Belles on top 32-30 at the half.
The two teams were tied at 33 with 6:20 to go but Prophet sparked a 9-0 run scoring six of the nine points all from the free throw line. The Oredigges would close the gap to three at 44-41 with 2:01 to go in the third quarter but Dorsey responded in a big way. The junior cut to the lane and scored a layup and was fouled. Colorado School of Mines would not get any close as Dorsey stepped to the free throw line and sank the bucket for a six point advantage. ASU would take a seven point lead into the fourth quarter.
ASU used a combination of defense and some timely shooting to start the fourth quarter. Up just five points at 53-48, ASU would go on a 9-0 run over the next 4:25 of the game to build a 60-48 lead with 5:27 to go in the game. CSM answered with 3-pointers and used a 10-4 run to trim ASU's lead to 64-58 with 1:17 to go. Christina Robinson answered with a layup to push it to eight. The Belles used the free throw line to secure the win hitting five down the stretch to pull away for the 71-61 win.
CSM's Cassidy Budge scored 21 points and Elizabeth Tomon added 19.
The Belles other two NCAA Tournament wins came against Northeastern State in 2004-05 and St. Mary's in 2002-03. ASU has never advanced to a regional final in program history.
Lubbock Christian enters the game with a perfect 30-0 record. The Lady Chaps score 82.2 points per game while limiting teams to 52.1. LCU has a 12-0 record at home this season and are led in scoring by Nicole Hampton (14.5), Tess Bruffey (13.3) and Kelsey Hoppel (12.5). This will be the 10th all-time meeting between the two schools. LCU leads the series 6-3 and won the last matchup in overtime in 2001.
The game will be carried locally on KWFR 101.9 the Fire with Jeremy Bryant on the call.
