ALLEN, Texas - The Angelo State women's basketball team opened the Lone Star Conference postseason tournament with a win on Thursday, topping Cameron 88-71 in the Allen Event Center in Allen, Texas.
The Belles (23-4, 15-4 LSC) held the Aggies (11-16, 9-11 LSC) below their season scoring average of 78.8 points per game, which was second in the LSC, and forced Cameron into just 33 percent shooting in the game.
"We worked hard all week preparing for Cameron because we knew the talent they had and how well they could score the ball," ASU head women's basketball coach Kevin Baker said. "We tried to keep them out of the middle of the floor and keep them off the free-throw line and it really helped us control the game from the get-go."
Five different ASU players reached the double digit scoring mark in the matchup, led by Bria Frierson who scored a career-high 19 in the matchup. Frierson went a perfect 7-for-7 from the field on the day and made all five of her free throw attempts to get her points.
Point guard Christina Robinson followed right behind Frierson with 18 points of her own, helped by 4-of-5 shooting from behind the arc. Robinson also added in four assists, eight rebounds and a block on the defensive end. Keanna Kelly got 13 in the matchup and grabbed a team-high four offensive rebounds, while Taylor Dorsey and Chenelle Pelle each added I 11.
Senior Lexi Murphy was the ASU assist leader against Cameron, getting six in the game and also dominated on the glass with 12 rebounds. Murphy finished just two points shy of a double-double, scoring eight points in the game. Madi Greenwood chipped in six points off the bench and a team-high three blocks, and Jasmine Prophet got a bucket and four rebounds as well in her time on the court.
The Belles opened the game hot, kicking off the scoring with a layup by Frierson, and the proceeded to get an 8-0 lead before the Aggies got on the board four minutes into the first quarter. ASU pushed the lead to double digits two minutes later with back-to-back layups from Murphy and Pelle, and a three-pointer from Robinson with four seconds to go would keep the lead at 11 at the end of the opening period.
A 12-5 run at the beginning of the second quarter cut the Aggie deficit to just four with 7:09 left in the half, but ASU responded with a 9-3 run to regain their double-digit lead. Three-pointers by Robinson and Kelly helped the Belles head into the locker room 12 points ahead. Overall in the half, ASU shot 53 percent from the field.
After the break, ASU went on a 17-5 run to open the quarter, building a commanding 22 point lead. Cameron used a small run of its own to shrink the lead back to 15, but the Belles went on a tear again and closed the quarter on a 14-1 run. The final quarter would begin with Angelo State up 28.
The Belles pushed the lead out wider in the first four minutes of the final quarter, building their widest gap at 34 with six minutes to play. With the ASU bench in, Cameron opened up a 12-0 run, but the Belle lead was still 22, and the Belles would close out the game with a comfortable 17-point lead.
With the win, Angelo State moves on to the semifinal round of the tournament and will face the winner of the game between Texas Woman's and West Texas A&M at noon on Saturday in Allen, Texas.
