Lady Texans drum Midland 64-41 to advance to Region V title game

ABILENE — The top-seeded South Plains College women's basketball team will play for the Region V title after drumming Midland College 64-41 Friday in the semifinals of the Region V Tournament at Moody Coliseum.

South Plains will matchup with Collin County at 4 p.m. in Saturday's championship game with the Lady Texans looking to clinch the automatic berth to the NJCAA Women's Basketball National Tournament. 

"This is a huge win for us and Midland is one of the top teams in our conference which makes them one of the top teams in the country," South Plains head coach Cayla Petree said. "It's really difficult to beat someone three times and it took everyone to win this game. We were balanced on offense tonight with three players in double figures and its good to get another opportunity to play tomorrow."

Sophomore guard Caroline Germond led the way for South Plains with 16 points and four assists over 35 minutes, knocking down 7 of 15 shots from the floor and was 2 of 3 from distance. LSU signee Sarah Shematsi had 14 points and six boards, bucketing 4 of 8 shots from the perimeter in 33 minutes of action.

Grace Hunter provided 13 points coming off the bench for the Lady Texans, sinking 5 of 7 shots from the floor as the Lady Texans shot 42.6 percent from the floor and 47.4 percent from behind the arc. Sophomore Oceane Robin chipped in nine points and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line while Ruth Koang had four points and a game-high eight rebounds for South Plains.

South Plains was relentless on the defensive end, forcing Midland into 21 turnovers resulting in 25 points on the offensive end. The Lady Texans controlled the interior throughout the game, netting 20 points inside the paint and received 26 points from their bench.