Feb. 10, 2011

Final Stats

Texas A&M International University clinched a spot in the upcoming Heartland Conference Tournament with a 92-89 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Thursday night in Goodwell, Okla.

The win keeps TAMIU (7-18, 4-4 Heartland) in fourth place in the conference standings while also clinching a spot in the four-team postseason tournament. The Dustdevils have a three-game lead over St. Edward's (1-6 Heartland) with two games remaining but even if the teams tie TAMIU will advance to the postseason tournament by virtue of a season sweep over the Hilltoppers.

TAMIU led by as many as 16 points in the first half but OPSU fought back to make it a competitive second half.

The Lady Aggies first tied it 57-57 on a jumper by Carmela Garía at the 12:57 mark. OPSU would go up by seven points and TAMIU by four points from that point but the score was tied again at 78-78 at the 2:46 mark.

TAMIU put the game in the win column with a furious 14-11 game-ending run. Freshman Angie Villanueva came up big during the stretch run, sinking a jumper to give the Dustdevils an 87-81 lead with 40 seconds remaining in regulation before making two free throws to push the lead to 89-83 with 16 seconds left to play.

OPSU's Brianna González drilled a 3-pointer to cut TAMIU's lead to 89-86 with 10 seconds left. The Lady Aggie were forced to foul on the in-bounds pass and Samantha Chacon secured the win for the Dustdevils by sinking two free throws with six seconds left, pushing the lead to 91-86.

Chacon led the Dustdevils with 18 points. Johnna Williams turned in another outstanding performance, finishing with 17 points and 21 rebounds. The 21 rebounds ties Williams' own school single-game record previously set against Texas Wesleyan.

Erika Rosas finished with 14 points and Nikkiti Scott finished with 10 points.