Coach Johnson looks to LSC tournament, D-II playoff run
After dropping two games at home, and two spots in the Lone Star Conference, the women’s basketball program picked themselves back up with two commanding wins over Texas A&M-Commerce on Feb. 20 and Tarleton State on Feb. 23.
Women’s Head Basketball Coach Noel Johnson said the team has gotten their groove back with these two wins, but it was a pretty big hit to the team’s standings to drop both home games against Abilene Christian and Angelo State.
“I feel like we hit a bit of a slump against ACU and Angelo State,” Johnson said. “We weren’t aggressive enough defensively, and we’re such a defensive-minded team in how we make our offense out of defense. We weren’t doing that efficiently or effectively against those two opponents.”
The team quickly worked the kinks out the following week, picking up a 70-62 win at home over Commerce, and a 71-63 win on the road against Tarleton.
Kirsti Degelia paced the women to both wins, scoring 16 points against Commerce, and 18 points against Tarleton. Shatoia Gober also scored 16 points against Commerce, and Andrea Carter notched a double-double in both games, scoring 11 points and grabbing 12 rebounds against
Commerce, and 15 points and 14 rebounds against Tarleton.
“I feel like we also had a slump in the first half of the Commerce game when we were down by nine,” Johnson said. “But in the second half, we picked it up and we finally played our way out of it. We were ready for the (Tarleton) game. To play the way we did, I’m very proud of this team and how we responded from those two losses.”
The team pushed itself back up to the number two spot in the LSC, trailing ACU by one game, after the two wins.
Johnson said despite the team’s earlier loss, the race for first is still up for grabs.
While ACU still has the tough task of taking on Incarnate Word on Feb. 27, they also play their last game of the season against the last place Texas A&M-Kingsville on March 2. MSU, on the other hand, will wrap up their season against Texas Women’s University on Feb. 27.
“We’ll be watching (the Abilene Christian) game closely to see how they perform,” Johnson said. “Them having two games left to play, and us only having one, can play to our advantage, but we should have taken care of business earlier so we weren’t in this
position and didn’t need any help.”
The team’s Feb. 27 game will be its last regular season game, and will double as senior night for those graduating or losing eligibility after this season.
“I definitely feel like we’ve got some confidence going into this game,” Johnson said. “Especially the way Ashley Rush, one of our seniors, played these last two games. She’s going to want to play like that Wednesday night because it’s her last home game.”
Aside from finishing off the regular season strongly, Johnson is focused on preparing the team for the LSC Postseason Tournament in Allen,
Texas from March 6-9, and ultimately a run in the NCAA D-II playoffs.
Johnson said that despite the team’s youth, this season helped them grow as a team and improve their chemistry.
She takes pride in how far they’ve come during their 20-5 season, and looks forward to seeing how far the women go into the post-season.
For the team to be successful, Johnson said she believes the women have to play their game.
“We’ve got to prepare ourselves by continuing to foster what we do well – run the basketball, play pressure defense and be active in the passing lanes. We’re not going to change anything up. It’s a whole new season once the conference tournament is over. Everything you did in the past is over – now it’s survive and advance.”