No. 14 Tyler Junior College Apache Ladies win 10th straight, defeat No. 9 Angelina, 71-60
Tyler Junior College's only Region XIV setback came against Angelina College Jan. 9 in Lufkin.
On Wednesday, the No. 14 Apache Ladies were able to avenge that loss with a 71-60 victory over the No. 9 Lady Roadrunners in a battle of nationally ranked squads at Wagstaff Gymnasium.
Facing an Angelina team that not only has the top-ranked junior college player in the country — 6-4 center Natasha Mack — but also features strong 3-point shooting, the Apache Ladies wanted to make it difficult for the Lady Roadrunners to get good looks from deep.
Angelina hit eight triples in the first meeting. TJC held Angelina to 4-for-19 shooting for 3-point range on Wednesday.
"We had a great team defensive effort," TJC head coach Trenia Tillis Hoard said. "We knew they could shoot the three, so we wanted to force them to shoot twos instead of threes."
Three of Angelina's made triples came from Britney Thompson — all in the second half — and they were from well behind the line. Thompson finished with 11 points.
Mack — the younger sister of former TJC Apache standout Dominique Shaw — had 27 points, 15 rebounds, six blocks, four assists and three steals for Angelina (21-3, 10-3).
Angelina held Tyler scoreless for nearly the first five minutes and led 5-0. The Apache Ladies responded with an 8-2 run and led 16-11 after the first quarter.
With the score at 22-20 in the second quarter, Diamond Atchinson and Te'Aire Hambrick knocked down consecutive 3-pointers to push the lead to 28-20.
Atchinson ended the half on a personal 6-2 run, including a free throw with less than a second on the clock, to give the Apache Ladies a 37-31 halftime advantage.
Tyler was ahead 41-33 before Angelina held the Apache Ladies scoreless for more than five minutes and turned it into a 15-4 run to grab a 48-45 lead after three quarters.
Hambrick and Kierra Brimzy guided a 5-0 run to start the fourth quarter, but Angelina responded with a bucket by Mack to tie the score at 50.
Atchinson and Thompson traded 3-pointers before Hambrick knocked down a triple of her own to make the score 56-53. After Mack scored on a short jumper, Tyler held Angelina scoreless for 4:36 as part of a 6-0 run to stretch the lead to 62-44.
The Apache Ladies ended the game on a 15-5 spurt to win their 10th straight contest.
Brimzy led Tyler with 21 points. Hambrick had 14 points and Atchinson added 13 points. Trelynn Tyler and Felmas Koranga had 8 points each. Koranga grabbed 17 rebounds, and Tyler finished with six rebounds and five assists.
TJC finished with six made 3-pointers, including three by Hambrick.
Mia Perkins — the daughter of former NBA player Sam Perkins — had 7 points and nine rebounds for Angelina.
Tyler (22-3, 12-1) will travel to Brenham on Saturday to take on Blinn.
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Tyler 71, Angelina 60
Angelina 11 20 17 12 — 60
Tyler 16 21 8 26 — 71
ANGELINA — Natasha Mack 27, Britney Thompson 11, Mia Perkins 7, Mia Williams 5, Simran Mayfield 2, Arianna Garry 3, Teeonna Barkley 5.
TYLER — Trelynn Tyler 8, Felmas Koranga 8, Diamond Atchinson 13, Kennedy Burks 2, Kierra Brimzy 21, Te'Aire Hambrick 14, Frankazia Boyd 2, Kharisma Brown 3.