Women's Basketball Headlines
HUTCHINSON, Ka.—Day one of the 2017 NJCAA Track & Field Outdoor National Championships got underway at Gowans Stadium on Thursday beginning with the men's decathlon. The Texans' Patrick Johnson currently sits in second with 3817 points, trailing only Iowa Central's Jared Seay who finished the day with 3921 points. Johnson shot out of the blocks and set a new stadium record in the 400 meters crossing the finish line at 48.68. South Plains' Jonathan Witt, who sits in eighth with 3136 points, finished fifth in the 400 meters with a time of 50.82.
LEVELLAND—In a year which saw the South Plains College women's basketball team win 28 games and reach the second round of the 2017 NJCAA Women's Basketball National Tournament, the Lady Texans added three more players to the list of Div. I scholarship recipients on Thursday. 5-foot-6 sophomore guard Brittany Smith inked her national letter of intent to the fighting Mean Green of North Texas University. Smith was named the WJCAC Defensive Player of the Year and a first team all-conference selection in 2016. The Houston native set the school single game record for assists with 15 against Clarendon on Feb. 23 at the Texan Dome. Smith averaged 10 points, five boards and four assists per game while shooting 41.5 percent from the field.
LUBBOCK—Despite placing four scorers in double figures, the South Plains College Lady Texans fell to the Seward County Saints 87-69 on Tuesday in the second round of the 2017 NJCAA Women's Basketball National Tournament at the Rip Griffin Center. "Just a lot of respect for Seward County," South Plains head coach Cayla Petree said. "Their players had a great game and definitely came to play and shot lights out. They made 16 3s and shot 41 percent from the field. That's just really impressive at our level, and it wasn't like we didn't identify the shooters. We made our run early, they just remained poised and they just kind of chipped away and the momentum swung and they never looked back."
LUBBOCK—Jasauen Beard knew her second chance would come soon enough. The exact moment, however, remained uncertain. It would be safe to say that opportunity arrived on Monday in the opening round of the 2017 NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball National Tournament at the Rip Griffin Center as Beard scored a career-high 32 points and led the No. 9 seeded Lady Texans past the No. 24 seed in Monroe College 85-73. "When I came here it was kind of like a second chance type thing," Beard said. "One of the things we talked about in recruiting was winning a national championship. That's one of the reasons I came here and had a chip on my shoulder. It seems like it's just one step closer to what we've been working for all year."
LEVELLAND—After leading the South Plains College women's basketball team to one of the most successful seasons in program history, second-year head coach Cayla Petree was one of four coaches from across the country to be named a finalist for the 2017 United States Marine Corps Women's Basketball Coaches Association National Coach of the Year award on Wednesday. Following a 20-win season and an appearance in the Region V Tournament during her first year in Levelland, Petree has led the Lady Texans to a 27-5 record in just her second year on the South Plains and will lead her squad onto the hardwood on March 20 at the 2017 NJCAA Women's Basketball National Tournament.
LEVELLAND—The South Plains College Lady Texans earned a No. 9 national seed on Monday to the NJCAA Women's Basketball National Tournament and will tip-off at noon on Monday, March 20 against Monroe College at the Rip Griffin Center on the Campus of Lubbock Christian University. "It's March madness at any level, and this is a big deal for our girls," South Plains head coach Cayla Petree said. "We talked about going to Lubbock all year long. It's 28 miles down the road and this is the position we wanted to put ourselves in. I think anything can happen and we're very optimistic and we know that at this point in the season that everybody is a threat and everybody can play."
LEVELLAND—The South Plains College Texans and Lady Texans will look to continue their run through the postseason as each received an At-Large bid on Sunday to their respective National Tournaments.
WOLFFORTH—Despite a valiant four quarter surge which saw the Lady Texans trim a 20-point deficit to just six, South Plains fell to Collin County 77-70 in the semifinal round of the Region V Tournament on Friday at the Tiger Pit. Sophomore Yanina Inkina scored a team-high 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting in 37 minutes of action. Jasauen Beard finished with 15 points and eight boards on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor. Elizabeth Cera scored 10 points and dished out four assists while Brittany Smith finished with six points and recorded a game-high nine assists.
WOLFFORTH—Let it fly. The No. 6 South Plains College Lady Texans knocked down eight 3-pointers and shot 44 percent from beyond the arc to down Ranger College 61-46 in the opening round of the NJCAA Region V Tournament on Wednesday afternoon at the Tiger Pit. Sophomore Brittany Smith scored a game-high 18 points and dished out six assists as the Lady Texans picked up their 10th win in the last 11 contests. Levelland native Elizabeth Cera shot 50 percent from the field knocking down four 3-balls in the contest and finished the game with 14 points in 31 minutes of action.
LEVELLAND—Ranked sixth in the country in the latest NJCAA polls, the South Plains College Lady Texans will look to continue their winnings ways at the Region V tournament on March 8-11 at Frenship High School's Tiger Pit. South Plains enters the tournament as the No. 2 seed out of the west and will tipoff at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 8 against No. 3 seed out of the North in Ranger College. The Lady Texans have won nine of their last 10 including a 4-0 mark to end the regular season.
LEVELLAND—Jasauen Beard scored 15 points and the No. 6 Lady Texans placed three other scorers in double figures en route to a 74-61 victory over Western Texas College on Thursday night at the Texan Dome. South Plains picked up its ninth win in the last 10 contests and improved to 26-4 on the year and 11-3 in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference. 12s were wild on Thursday night as sophomores Yanina Inkina, Taylor Holley and Brittany each scored 12 points in the trio's final game at the Texan Dome.
LEVELLAND—Yanina Inkina scored a season-high 26 points as the No. 7 South Plains College Lady Texans downed Clarendon 81-55 to improve to 10-3 in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference on Thursday night at the Texan Dome. "I was able to hit some shots outside, and my teammates helped me find some good shots tonight," Inkina said. "We were trying to move the ball quickly on offense and make plays. You never know when you'll have a game like this, and I was just trying to stay focused and take good shots. I felt pretty good in the first half and just tried to help out my team."
BIG SPRING—Elizabeth Cera scored 17 points while Yanina Inkina bucketed 16 and went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe as the No. 7 South Plains College Lady Texans downed Howard 67-57 on Monday night to improve to 24-4 on the year and 9-3 in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference. Sophomore Brittany Smith chipped in 13 points over 39 minutes and Jasauen Beard finished with 12 points and 8 boards. The Lady Texans have won seven of their last eight dating back to Jan. 19. "Everything was working for us tonight and we're just trying to keep getting better," Inkina said. "Every game from here on out is very important for us, and every win gets us closer to the regional tournament. We know teams are going to play at a high level against us, and we're supposed to win every game. Howard is a really good shooting team, so we just worked hard defensively against a really good team."
LEVELLAND—South Plains College women's basketball coach Cayla Petree thrives on the underdog mentality. It can seem somewhat odd at times simply because the second-year Lady Texans head coach has won seemingly everywhere she's been. That trend hasn't faltered this season, either, as coach Petree has her team ranked seventh in the country in the latest NJCAA polls, amassing a 23-4 season record including an 8-3 record in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference.
ODESSA—In a contest between two of the countries' top women's basketball programs, the No. 7 South Plains College Lady Texans fell to the No. 3 Odessa College Lady Wranglers 53-51 on Thursday night. After South Plains' Joneva Huey hit the second of a pair of three throws to put the Lady Texans up 51-50, the Lady Wranglers pushed the ball to the top of the key, ending with a long 3-pointer from Mariah McCully with 2.9 seconds remaining.
