Women’s basketball score consecutive wins

After sweeping Cameron University aside at Lawton 65-52 in a midweek fixture, head women’s basketball coach Noel Johnson said the Lady Mustangs’ ambition of winning the Lone Star championship was one of the key factors behind the victory over their rivals.

In spite of Cameron’s abundance of home support, Midwestern State took command of the rivalry match with four players getting double digits on the scoreboard. Still, the opposition history between both teams instigated an interesting match.

“There is a rivalry between us and there’s tension in the gym,” Johnson said. “The crowd is really into it but it’s a fun atmosphere between these two teams.”

Johnson believed MSU was able to overcome the Aggies’ home advantage by playing intelligently.

“When playing on the road, you always have to be mentally tough and get used to a different environment,” she said. “They had a lot of fans hence we had a hard time verbalizing some calls. Again, you just have to be mentally tough on the road.”

Nonetheless, this tough game could have gone either way as Cameron put together a great performance courtesy of a great team. Johnson expressed her admiration for this well-coached team.

“I think Cameron played well. They don’t have a big tall girl or someone who scores 40 points but they play well as a team,” she said. “They have good chemistry, their coach runs really good sets and he is a very non-traditional coach in some of the sets that he runs.”

In the process of recognizing Cameron’s imposing form, Johnson noticed a few flaws that her team ought to erase as well as areas that need attention. Despite double digits from three players, she included offense department in areas that could have done better.

“We didn’t have consistent shooters. We have to be more deliberate with the basketball going into the glass.” she said. “I feel like there’s places we need to improve on defensively especially because they’ve run very disciplined sets on offence.”

Nevertheless, Johnson was pleased that the girls made reasonable adjustments in certain areas.

With less than a dozen games between the Lady Mustangs and the postseason tournament, the players intend to keep the positive results consistent.

“We’re continuing to be in hunt for the Lone Star Championship so we have to win on the road,” said Johnson. “It’s just about us improving every game.”

The Lady Mustangs made a significant improvement when they hosted Cameron University Jan. 26 in a game that ended 69-49.

“This is a touch week because you play this team back to back,” Johnson said. “There’s a different adjustment you feel you can make but you have just a short amount of time to put those adjustment in.”

Johnson had stated before the second fixture that the win at the Aggie gym created confidence in the girls.

“It’s a confidence builder going into Saturday when we beat them at their place and we get them here at home,” she said. “That brings a lot of confidence because you beat them on the road.”

Johnson felt that her team improved in the rematch at the D.L. Ligon Coliseum as a result of the confidence the Lady Mustangs had built.

“Our defense was resilient and that we created a lot from our defense,” she said. “I felt like we had a lot of confidence in the game.”

“It took us a while to get going in the game but we’ll have to fire on all cylinders in the future,” she said.

The rivalry continues as Lady Mustangs host the Cardinals of Incarnate Word Jan. 31. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. The last time both teams met this season, the Cardinals edged a point victory over MSU after a double overtime. Hence, Johnson intends come out victorious.

“We missed a lot of opportunities the last time we met,”  she said.“We have to come out with aggressiveness.”