Canyon, TX - "We might come from a loss and then after that, feel bad for the team that comes next," were the words that senior guard Marquita Daniels used to describe the fighting spirit of the Angelo State Belles basketball team, so you can imagine the fire that they brought with them in their fourth matchup with West Texas A&M, the team that had handed the Belles three of their five losses on the season. Head Coach Renae Shippy had mentioned that the team had not looked like themselves in the last two matchups against the Lady Buffs, but when the game clock hit zero in overtime it was the Angelo State Belles who would continue to dance on.
The Belles caught fire early in the game, outscoring WTAMU 21-9 in the first quarter of play. Although the team did not achieve their benchmark of winning the rebounding game, there were other crucial metrics that ended in their favor. The largest advantage was one that has been the trademark of the team's play style all year – speed. The Belles outscored the Lady Buffs 21 to 10 on points off of turnovers, and 16-10 on fast break points. This advantage helped give the team a 21-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, and would allow Angelo State to come away with the win even after getting outscored in the second, third, and fourth quarters of play.
The Lady Buffs would enter the second quarter with a 12 point deficit and respond with their most productive 10 minutes of basketball in the contest, outscoring Angelo State 20-15. WTAMU's ability to rely on their bench for points and their ability to attack the goal both reached their game highs statistically in this quarter, with bench players scoring eight points and 12 of the teams 20 points coming from within the paint. The Belles would compete well offensively by putting 15 points of their own on the board, and were the owners of a seven point lead entering halftime.
Not enough good things could be said about Maria Delgado's first half performance of the game. The Colombian bruiser entered the locker room at the half already approaching double-double territory with 14 points and seven rebounds. In the Belles previous game against Westminster, Delgado had again acted as a rock solid foundation for the team, scoring 13 points and grabbing 14 boards.
In her 12 minutes of play, Marquita Daniels had shown why she was rightfully crowned the Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Year as the Atlanta native had already swiped the ball from the Lady Buffs three times. Daniels was right behind Delgado's point total with nine of her own at this point.
De'Anira Moore was also a key contributor to the first half effort. Having spent only nine minutes on the court, Moore was a steady 3-5 from the field with two rebounds.
There are over 30 sports movies with motivational locker room speeches. Halftime speeches have become an infamous remind that a team can never be counted out, and the owners of the lead should never let their guard down going into the second half of play. The Lady Buffs had come out of halftime inspired, holding the Belles to just 12 points in both the third and fourth quarters. WTAMU may have adjusted to ASU's style of play, but they would not be able to account for the dogged determination of the team in blue and gold. Fans would also once again get to witness the battle between LSC Player of the Year Lexi Hightower and Marquita Daniels, who joined each other as First Team All-Region selections as well.
The Lady Buffs came out hot in the third quarter, outscoring the Belles 9-2 before ASU turned things right around by going on a 9-0 run of their own to take back the lead. Daniels would sink a free throw to end the quarter with the Belles ahead 48-43.
In the fourth quarter WT whittled the ASU lead down to just one point before De'Anira Moore hit a jumper in the paint and Daniels added a point of her own from the charity stripe the extend the Belles lead to four. The rest of the quarter would play out in the favor of the Lady Buffs, who took the lead for the entirety of the four minutes left in regulation play – the rest of the quarter that is, except for the last ten seconds when Dezirae Hampton pulled up from beyond the arc and drained a clutch three to tie the game at 60-60. The fourth matchup of the season between the Angelo State Belles and the West Texas A&M Lady Buffs was going into overtime.
With five minutes on the clock and no team holding an advantage, it was time for a team to earn their ticket to the next step of the dance, and that's exactly what the Belles did. De'Anira Moore started things off for the Belles with a made layup at the 4:22 mark. The Lady Buffs would respond, and the lead would switch hands three times in the next minute of play. Just before two minute mark, Marquita Daniels drilled her fourth three pointer of the game to take back the lead 67-65. Another Moore post move and three free throws later, the Belles had held the Lady Buffs in check and were moving on to the Sweet 16. Final score: 73-70.
Marquita Daniels led the team offensively with 24 points and three assists. Daniels also grabbed four boards and had four steals in the game – three of which helped spark the Belles early run. The four steals bring Daniels' season total to 87. The senior guard was 7-12 from the free throw line and a marksman's 4-6 from beyond the arc.
De'Anira Moore was solid in the paint for ASU, recording 18 points, a block, and four rebounds. Her 8-17 performance from the field places her as the second leading scorer on the team for the game.
Maria Delgado recorded her second double-double of the tournament which was fueled by her electric first half. Her final line would end as 16 points, 12 rebounds, and two assists in the game while shooting 2-5 from three point range.
Dezirae Hampton provided 12 points of her own along with six rebounds and an assist. Six of her points came from three point shots, one of which was the clutch shot to tie up the game with just over 10 seconds left to play in regulation.
The Belles advance to face the #3 seeded Lady Chaparrals of Lubbock Christian in Lubbock on Tuesday for the South Central Regional Finals. The Lady Chaps defeated the #6 seed Tarleton state in the first round with a decisive score of 84-53. They then went on to defeat the #2 seed Colorado Mesa 56-53.
