Lady Dustdevils score double home victory

With the 2006-2007 basketball seasons coming to an end, teams are all trying to earn their respective spot in the Heartland Conference. The lady Dustdevils, being one of the teams, managed to come out on top with two victories: they defeated Oklahoma Panhandle State University on February 8 and UT Permian Basin on February 10.

Oklahoma Panhandle University had defeated the lady Dustdevils on their previous encounter, but the Dustdevils' home "face off" was a different outcome.

The game strategy for the Dustdevils according to Women's Basketball Head Coach Deryl Vincent was "we needed to sacrifice Vanessa Villarreal and Jermina Tomlinson's stats (the leading scorers on the team) by pulling them out and allowing the rest of our players to play a three on three game."

Becky Mata, a junior guard on the Dustdevil's team, added "we learned what it was we had to do different in order to win; we had to limit our turnovers, execute our game plan, and have other people step up."

This is exactly what the lady Dustdevils did.

Vincent said, "Our role players did an amazing fob and really stepped up tonight."

Nicole Gipson, a post for the Dustdevils, led all scorers with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Mata contributed 16 points, six rebounds, and four assists.

The lady Dustdevils' fought for the victory and defeated Oklahoma Panhandle with a small margin of 60-58.

"A win is a win, we'll take it any way it comes" said Coach Vincent.

One day after their victory over Oklahoma, the lady Dustdevils faced UT Permian Basin. Tip-off was scheduled at 5:30 p.m. and the victory wasn't accomplished until over two hours later.

"This is the most exciting game I've seen all year," said Maddie Mojica, a sophomore at the lady Dustdevil's game.

Many probably agreed with Mojica since the entire game was kept very close with a battle of baskets on each side of the court. The crowd was kept on its feet and with 2:29 on the clock, Amy Synatschk, a player for the UT Permian Basin team, made a jumper and tied the score at 65.

Mata came down on the opposite side of the court and responded with a jumper herself, pulling the Dustdevils up by two (67-65).

Mary Tobias, a freshman on the TAMIU basketball team, made a free throw to extend the lead by three.

UT Permian Basing managed to tie the game one more time and both teams went scoreless for the last minute of the game.

The game headed to overtime with an additional five minutes on the clock.

Overtime seemed to be a flashback of the previous last five minutes of the game, with both teams continuing to exchange baskets right after one another.

With only a minute left on the clock and the Dustdevils down by three, Jermina Tomlinson, the shooting guard for the Dustdevils, pulled up for a three-point shot and hit nothing but net. Tomlinson tied the score at 80 and the Dustdevils headed for their second overtime of the night.

The second overtime began with a quick jumper from Lizzy Herrera, a player for TAMIU, and the Dustdevils managed to drift away, take the lead.

The Dustdevils held the opposing team by allowing only three points, thus outscoring Permian Basin 14-3.

The Dustdevil's team was led by seniors Vanessa Villarreal, with 25 points 12 rebounds, and Jermina Tomlinson's 23 points and 11 rebounds. Both girls ended up with a double-double for the night.

TAMIU women's basketball team holds a record of 7-3, placing them in 1st place in the Heartland Conference along with Montana Billings (6-3).