Box Score

     WAXAHACHIE, Texas - Texas Wesleyan clinched an automatic berth into the national tournament with a 76-45 victory over Langston, Friday evening in the Red River Athletic Conference semifinals.

     Texas Wesleyan (23-9) was hot right out of the gate, outscoring Langston, 12-2 in the first five minutes of the game. The Lady Rams hit two treys to take the 10-point lead with 14:53 left in the first half. Senior Shayla Coleman had five points during the span, and junior Shawndrika Courtney added four points.

     Langston (18-15) held it close with Kimberly Braxton scoring six points in the first 10 minutes, but Wesleyan was too fired up playing some inspiring defense.

     The Lady Rams used a 19-4 run over the next six minutes to take a commanding 34-10 lead with 5:24 mark of the first half. Courtney led Texas Wesleyan with nine points and four rebounds, and Nastassia Brown added eight points and three rebounds.

     The two teams traded baskets the rest of the half and the Lady Rams took a 40-19 lead in at the break.

     In the second half, Texas Wesleyan increased its lead to 30, using 19-10 run in the first 10 minutes of the period. Senior Kashae Townsend had six points during the stretch to give the Lady Rams an insurmountable, 59-29 lead, with 10:05 remaining in the game.

     The Lady Rams continued their constant pressure forcing the Lady Lions into 21 turnovers for the game. Brown continued her relentless play, scoring 11 of her 17 points and pulled down seven of her 10 rebounds in the second frame.

     Brown finished with a game-high 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Courtney finished with 12 points and six rebounds. The 12 points that Courtney scored was good enough to make her the 10th member of the Texas Wesleyan 1,000-point club. She is currently right on the mark with 1,000 points on the season. The Lady Rams owned the inside as Townsend chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds. Texas Wesleyan outscored Langston, 38-18 in the paint and outrebounded the Lady Lions, 45-38.

     Mallory Williams led Langston with eight points and five rebounds, while Tara White scored six points and pulled own five rebounds.

     Texas Wesleyan shot 47 percent (28-60) from the floor and 58 percent (14-24) from the charity stripe. The Lady Rams also shot 43 percent (6-14) from the three-point line.

     Langston shot 32 percent (17-54) from the field and 50 percent (9-18) from the free-throw line. The Lady Lions also shot 10 percent (2-20) from behind the arc.

     Texas Wesleyan will be back in action Saturday, when they take on #1-ranked Houston Baptist in the championship game of the RRAC tournament. The game will tip-off at 6 p.m. at Southwestern Assemblies of God University in Waxahachie. Houston Baptist has won both meetings between the two teams this season. The Lady Huskies defeated Texas Wesleyan, 88-61 in Houston, and the Lady Rams were also defeated, 71-52 in Fort Worth. Check www.redriverconference.com for complete tournament results.