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SAN ANTONIO – History continues to write itself for the University of Texas of the Permian women's basketball team as it advanced to the championship game of the Heartland Conference Tournament with a 64-59 win over host St. Mary's. The Falcons have one obstacle left to overcome to reach their first-ever NCAA Division II National Tournament and that hurdle is St. Edward's, who upset top-seeded Newman earlier in the day. The two teams will square off at 2 p.m.
It took nearly 34 minutes for the University of Texas of the Permian to get its offense in gear as it missed numerous open layups and jump shots as well as free throws. UTPB shot just 25.9 percent in the first half and had just four points in the first seven-and-a-half minutes. To make things worse, UTPB hit just one field goal during that span and didn't hit its second until
Miesha Blackshear made a layup with 12:39 to go before the half. Lucky for the Falcons, St. Mary's couldn't find its shooting touch either as they clung to an 11-6 after Blackshear's bucket.
UTPB scored a season-low 19 points in the first half and the tandem of Blackshear and
Tammy Acosta, the two leading scorers on the team, combined for just seven points. The Rattlers weren't much better in the first, as it hit 33.3 percent from the field and led 21-19.
Offensive woes continued for the Falcons as the Rattlers jumped out to a 36-26 lead with 13:58 to go after Nicole James hit a 15-footer from the baseline. UTPB would go on a 7-0 run capped off by a three-pointer by Acosta to pull within three (36-33).
With 8:17 to go, the Falcons finally got in their comfort zone when Acosta knocked down a pair of free throws to make it 43-41 in favor of St. Mary's. Her buckets were the start of a 5-2 run that finally gave it a 46-45 edge when Blackshear made the front end of a pair of free throws. Once UTPB was able to score on a more regular basis it was able to use its press more affectively. “We knew our press would hurt them but we had to score to get into the press and we couldn't score for the longest time. Once we finally started to score, we were able to get the tempo the way we want it,” head coach Adam Collins said.
The teams would exchange buckets until UTPB used another 6-0 run to take a 50-47 lead after Acosta made a driving layup in traffic. The Falcons would keep the lead the rest of the way thanks to five-straight free throws and four layups.
Now that the Falcons are one step closer to attaining their goal Collins feels his team has unfinished business. “It gives us another chance at the ring we want. We wanted to deem ourselves champions in the regular season and we dropped the ball during the regular season. My coaches and I have always felt the winner of the conference tournament is the real champion and we are step closer to that.”
The Falcons beat St. Edward's handily in the first two meetings, winning 94-71 in Odessa before taking a 78-58 in the regular season finale in Austin. Despite the two lopsided victories, Collins feels tomorrow's game will be much different than the previous two. “We just talked about that in the locker room. As easily as we supposedly beat St. Ed's both times, so did Newman. St. Edwards is obviously a capable team so there is no reason to be over confident. All year long we have worried about what we do and not the other team. If there is ever a time to prove that, now is the time.”
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