SPORTS

Victorious: Win Snaps Losing Streak, Boosts Lady Indians
Iggy Cruz | Staff Reporter

The Lady Indians showcased their potential capabilities Saturday night at Ligon Coliseum by downing the number one scoring team in the conference and snapping a five-game skid in the process.
Prime-Time performances from Adrian Fincher, Johnice James and Katie Robertson sparked a 84-76 upset over Abilene Christian, who entered the game with a 3-0 South Conference record and four-game winning streak.  
Fincher led the Lady Indians with 21 points, five boards and five assists. The team shot 51 percent from the field and 31 percent from behind the arc.
Early foul problems plagued starters Katherine Maples and Kelly Cleavinger, forcing Head coach Shannon Burks to call on James and Robertson’s number. They did not disappoint.
James muscled her way in the paint for 11 points and Robertson chipped in 13 off the bench, pacing MSU to a 39-35 lead at halftime.
“It was probably the most complete game we’ve played all year,” Burks said. “I think what we saw tonight is what this team is capable of doing.” 
ACU was led by Meredith Doyle’s 18 points and Stephanie Riles 13. The Wildcats made a late run with 7 minutes left in the second half, cutting the deficit to four points. But that would be as close as they would get.
 LaTia Banks crossed over several Wildcat defenders on her way to a 10 point and five assist game. Cleavinger fouled out of the game, but posted 12 points and four assists to help MSU improve to 7-12 on the year and 2-4 in conference play. 
 The Lady Indians were in action prior to Saturday when they faced the Angelo State Rambelles Thursday. 
MSU suffered a 73-51 setback despite a game high 22 point and eight rebound effort from Katherine Maples. 
Maples got to a hot start early on by nailing all six of her first half attempts, keeping MSU in the game with a 34-35 halftime score. 
 But Angelo State’s trio of Ashley King, Courtney Nowlin, and Natalija Tsurbakova spearheaded the Belles attack in the second half by dropping 38 points and limiting MSU to 17.
 King led ASU with 17 points and six rebounds.
Nowlin and Tsurbakova each had six assists and 15 and 14 points respectively. 
MSU struggled from beyond the arch, going 3-13, while ASU went 4-7 from three-point land.
Adrian Fincher led the team with seven assists and Kelly Cleavinger added 7 points.
The Lady Indians committed 16 turnovers but forced the Belles into 20. Each team was whistled for 16 fouls.
The loss had extended MSU’s losing streak to five games before Saturday’s game.

Softball Team Favored at Second Season Start
Trey Reed | Staff Reporter

Last year, the Lady Indians turned their first season into a victory march through the Lone Star Conference North Division.
The team completed an improbably 31-16 inaugural season with a trip to the NCAA tournament.
Most would point to the momentum gained from being the upstart of the South Central region, but coach Brady Tigert immediately squelched any speculation that a positive roll would continue the team’s opener Thursday at Incarnate Word.
“Every year you have to refocus what you’re doing,” Tigert said. “I know it’s cliché, but it’s true. You have to take it one day at a time and get better everyday.”
The Lady Indians return nine players off of a team that swept through the LSC North at a 17-3 clip to claim the division championship, including pre-season LSC North most valuable player Brittany Willson and all-region catcher Racheal Jackson.
Willson, a junior pitcher from Burkburnett, is in her second full season since taking a year off after a stellar freshman year at Texas Woman’s University. Last season, Willson posted 18 wins while striking out 176 batters in 183 innings, and limited the opposition to a .234 batting average.
“She’s coming back in better shape,” Tiger said. “She’s raring to go.”
Junior Jenna Deweber will give the Lady Indians a solid one-two punch on the mound after earning 12 wins of her own last season with a 2.76 ERA. Deweber worked through a back injury throughout much of the year.
Ashley Kuchenski, a freshman from Magnolia, Texas, will give Tigert another option on the rubber.
“All bring something different to the table,” the coach said. “That will give us more latitude to force different match-ups.”
The three hurlers will have a more experienced backstop in Jackson.
“I expect her to be better,” Tigert said. “Because she’s not a freshman.”
The Rowlett, Texas product raised the bar after leading the team with seven homers last season and was third on the squad with a .338 average from the No. 3-hole.
Senior Courtney Veal (.358, 14 doubles, five homers) and freshman Kristen Stonecipher (Flower Mound, Texas) will split time at first base and designated hitter.
Sophomore Michelle Brooks will provide a solid glove at second base.
The Lady Indians will look to transfers Stephanie Wardlaw (Western Texas College) and Sarah Huddleston (Hutchinson Community College) to bolster the left side of the infield.
“Wardlaw will be great to watch at shortstop,” Tigert said. “Huddleston will provide consistency at third base.”
The pair take over for Valarie McLean and Amiee Duke, who made moves from other positions to hold down the left side of the diamond as season ago. Both will make the move to the outfield this season.
McLean and Duke will battle with junior Allison Tidwell (.327, six triples) and freshmen Sarah Pratt (Rowlett, Texas) and Brittany Franklin (Rider High School) for playing time in the corner outfield positions.
“The will all find a lot of playing time,” Tigert said.
Kortney Kemper (.165, two homers) will replace Brandi Tynes, an All-LSC North performer, in centerfield.
“Hitting-wise, she’s improved leaps and bounds,” Tigert said of Kemper, who fielded 39 chances cleanly last season with three assists. “She’s going to lead off for us and could lead us in home runs.”
Tigert believes this year’s edition has the potential to be a notch above last year’s squad mostly in part to further improvement on the mound and an improved defense.
“If we play to the level that we’re capable of, we can win a lot more games,” he said.
Not bad for a team in the second year of its existence following a 31-win campaign. 


Team Effor leads to Big Win
Jennifer Tavlian | Sports Editor

 Abilene Christian boasted three players scoring in double figures, including two starters.
 Unfortunately for the Wildcats, every player in the MSU lineup scored and five players posted scores in the double digits to lead the Indians to a commanding 104-71 win.
 ACU fell to an 8-12 overall record and 1-4 in Lone Star Conference play. With their third consecutive win, the Indians advanced to a record of 12-8 and 4-1 in the LSC.
 Senior forward Leonard Pralour came off the bench to pour in a career-high 17 points on seven-of-nine shooting. His efforts along with the rest of the reserves gave the Indians 45 points from the bench alone.
 “It was a big game and we had to set the tempo early,” Pralour said of the contribution. “You always have to be up for home games.”
 LaKeith Grant pulled his weight off the bench as well, scoring 11 points and drilling seven-of-eight shots at the line.
 Justin James had yet another double-double, edging his way closer to Gary Suiter’s record in the 1967-68 season when he finished the season averaging a double-double. James would be the first Indian in 37 years to match that feat. Saturday, he scored 14 points and ripped down 16 rebounds.
His efforts in the past two games gave him the LSC South Division Player of the Week honors.
 Jose Nava scored 14 points and blocked three shots while Chad Rickett scored 13 points.
 The Wildcats were led by Hakim Rasul with 30 points and ten rebounds. Starter David Baxter scored 18 points and Matthais Krieg scored 13 points off the bench.
 Krieg’s involvement made for most of ACU’s bench production, as they had just 17 total points.
 “The bench, the last several weeks, with players like LaKeith, Shelton (Hawkins), LP (Pralour) and Tate (Lombard) are really getting points and getting things done,” head coach Jeff Ray said. “You can only start five guys, but we feel like we could really start nine.”
 Hawkins came into the game midway through the first half and energized his way to three steals and three points in less than one minute, giving the Indians an 11-point lead that would increase to 30 points at the half.
 “I look up and see there’s about 12 minutes to go in the half and I know it’s about time to come in,” Hawkins said of his enthusiasm coming into the game. “I’ll give it to Tate Lombard. He’s been playing so well this week, I give him a hug so maybe I can get some of that good luck.”
 Lombard proved effective on Thursday night in the Indians’ 95-75 win over Angelo State.
 The junior guard scored a team and career-high 18 points off the bench, matching his point total for his entire sophomore season.
 He also contributed with six rebounds, three assists and a steal.
 The Indians boasted four other players scoring in double figures. Rickett had 17 points, James scored 14 and Nava and Eddie Rowe scored 13 and 10, respectively.
 MSU will remain at home on Thursday for an 8 p.m. showdown with LSC South Division-leading Texas A&M-Kingsville.


Mentally speaking …
David Roach | Staff Reporter

We often find ourselves marveling at the incredible athletic abilities and competition displayed when watching a sporting event that we tend to forget or do not realize how important the mental aspect of winning a game is in any sport.
I’m sure most of us engrossed in the sports world have heard the phrase, “It’s 10 percent physical and 90 percent mental.”
I’ve not only heard it uttered over and over again while learning the game of golf, but I honestly believe that statement is very true.
When the overall level of play is so close to even, as in college or professional sports, the mental game is often the x-factor.
Here is a perfect example.
The Miami Dolphins – who had won a mere two games – beat the New England Patriots in front of the home crowd on Monday Night Football.
How, one might ask, does a team with just two wins knock off the team headed for the Super Bowl?
It was just going to be another easy win for the Patriots, but the Dolphins were not about to get embarrassed on their home turf in front of millions of viewers on MNF.
However, when a much better Indianapolis Colts team met up with the Patriots in the AFC Divisional game, they lost.
Now, how in the world can the Dolphins beat the Patriots but Peyton Manning and his Colts cannot? Good question.
The Patriots were at home with the energy of their crowd on their side like the Dolphins had on MNF. The Colts are not used to playing outside in the cold and snow. I’m also willing to bet Manning had reoccurring nightmares of the interceptions he threw from the previous year floating in the back of his mind. Plus, it was the playoffs.
See the mental disparity?
The game of basketball is all about momentum.
One team can be down by 15 points during the third quarter, then go on a scoring run in the fourth and end up winning the game.
Does that mean the losing team was not as good a team as the one finishing on top? No. The winning team just got hot.
It’s players were “in the zone” at the right time.
Heck, before every single game the teams are jumping up and down, shouting at one another and just generally getting themselves “pumped up.”
If the mental aspect of a game was unimportant, maybe the players would just start playing.