After clinching their second straight LSC regular season title on the road, the Lady Buffs returned to the FUBC for senior day and defeated the ENMU Zias by over 30 points with a final score of 99 to 67.
Emotions were high for the four seniors on the Lady Buffs, evident by the pre-game ceremony held. The Lady Buffs quickly shook that off and shot for 63 percent during the first half and shooting for 64.8 percent for the entire game. Head Coach Mark Kellogg praised the shooting by his team throughout the game, but said his defense lagged a bit.
“I think we shot 65 for the game, and 64 from three, and we shot it really well from the free throw line,” Kellogg said. “We know we have the ability to score and a lot of kids can score, but obviously we have to get better defensively, and we gave up to many points and we let two players keep them in it. Stinnett and Turner kept them in it, and I was maybe a little stubborn and stayed in a zone when I should have gone man.”
Chontiquah White also said she was emotional at the beginning of the game.
“I did get emotional. I’m looking at different parents getting all teary eyed. You just start to sit back and reflect and be thankful,” White said. “Even though I don’t slow down during games or practice, I did stop and think about it.”
The Lady Buffs dominated in the paint, scoring 44 points to the Zias 12. The Lady Buffs also won the rebound battle with 34 rebounds to the Zias 17. White also came within three rebounds of being the all-time leader in career rebound for the Lady Buffs. Along with the dominance in the paint, players like Ariel Robertson shot extremely well. Robertson was a perfect seven for seven from the field and finished with 18 points on the game. Robertson also finished with seven rebounds for the game.
“It was my last night, so I just went out there and played without thinking really,” Robertson said.
Coach Kellogg also praised Robertson’s performance on the night.
“Her confidence level has changed greatly. She was a kid early on, but she’s grown as the year’s gone on, and she knows what is expected of her. It was a good senior day for her,” Coach Kellogg said.
The Lady Buffs also started off a bit flat, but picked it up massively in the second half, capitalizing on some shots that didn’t fall in the first half.
The Lady Buffs also got the opportunity to cut down the net after the game in commemoration of clinching the LSC regular season title. Coach Kellogg said since they’ve been on the road, they haven’t really had the time to celebrate.
“We really haven’t been able to celebrate a lot since we’ve been on the road when we clinched outright. At least it was an opportunity for these kids just to relax,” Coach Kellogg said. “It’s hard for these kids to do what they just did and go back to back after we’ve been here for two years. It is really special knowing that we lost six people, and they just bought in. I don’t think I would’ve been really confident at the beginning of the year to say that we would do what we just did.”
White also moved into fifth on the all-time scoring list for the Lady Buffs with a seven for ten shooting performance that led to 21 points. She said she was surprised.
“It was great. When I first learned about the rebound one, I thought ‘You gotta get that one. That’s the main reason you got recruited,’ and then to start hearing about the scoring, and then I look at the wall. It’s just great to be along the greats,” White said.
The Lady Buffs will now go on to the LSC tournament March 4 through 7 in Allen, Texas. They will be the number one seed and will host the NCAA South Central Regional with a tournament win.
