TYLER, TEXAS – The University of Texas at Tyler will be on the road all week long as they will take on Cameron, UT Permian Basin, and Angelo State this week in three big matchups for conference tournament seeding.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
The Patriots have battled to a 16-6 record so far this season with a 9-3 record in conference play. That puts the Patriots in fifth place overall, and just one spot out of receiving a first round bye in the LSC conference tournament. UT Tyler would be into a top four seed in the LSC tournament if they were to win out and every other team around them in the standings would win out.
With the NCAA South Central Regional Poll coming out for the first time last week, the Patriots sit in ninth place in the standings and just outside of the top eight that will qualify for the NCAA Tournament. With three wins this week, that will certainly improve their resume and potentially move them into the top eight before Selection Sunday on March 6.
SERIES HISTORY
On Tuesday, the Patriots will take on Cameron in a makeup contest from earlier this season that was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. The Aggies hold a 4-0 record against the Patriots all-time, with the most recent contest coming back on February 6, 2021 in which the Aggies won by a score of 74-41. This will be the fourth contest to take place in Lawton, Oklahoma in the series.
Thursday night will see the Patriots take on UT Permian Basin for just the third time ever in each program's history. Both of those contests came within the last two seasons, with the most recent contest being a 67-52 victory for the Falcons on February 3, 2021. This will be the second meeting in Odessa, Texas between the two teams.
Saturday afternoon's contest will be against Angelo State and will be the regular season finale for both teams. The Patriots and Rams have met just one time before this season, a 69-66 victory for the Rams back on January 30, 2020. This matchup will be a big one as the Rams sit just ahead of the Patriots in the conference standings.
THE SCOUTING REPORT
Cameron is first in the LSC in three point field goals made, turnover margin, and fewest turnovers as a team. The Aggies have four players who are averaging double figures in points, and they are led by Maighan Hedge. Hedge is averaging 21.1 points per game on 46.8% shooting from the floor and 43.7% from beyond the arc. She is also third on the team in rebounds and second on the team in assists.
Coaching the Aggies is Emma Andrews. Andrews is in her sixth season as head coach at Cameron and has compiled a record of 70-85. Most recently, she led the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament in the 2020-2021 season as the sixth seed in the South Central Regional.
UT Permian Basin ranks in the top five in the LSC in turnovers forced, steals per game, total steals, and offensive rebounds per game. Alexus Wykoff leads the offense for the Falcons, averaging 11.7 points per game. She is doing that on 62.8% shooting and averages 4.2 rebounds per game.
Rae Booth is the head coach of UT Permian Basin and has a career record of 36-92 in her five seasons at the program. Most recently, the Falcons have just missed the LSC tournament in back to back seasons.
Angelo State is in the top five amongst LSC competition in assists, rebounds, three point field goal defense, and scoring offense. The Rams have four players averaging double figures in scoring, and they are led by Blakely Gerber. Gerber is averaging 12.2 points per game on 40.5% shooting. She is third on the team in rebounding and assists.
Coaching the Rams is Alesha Ellis. Ellis is in her first season of coaching Angelo State after spending her first eight seasons at Wayland Baptist. She has compiled a career record of 203-63 and led the Flying Queens to the NAIA Tournament in all eight seasons she was head coach.
AROUND THE LONE STAR CONFERENCE
West Texas A&M holds the top spot in the LSC standings with a record of 11-2. Just behind them is Texas A&M-Commerce at 10-2. Angelo State and Texas Woman's are 11-3 and 10-3 and hold the third and fourth spots. UT Tyler is 9-3 and holds the fifth spot over Lubbock Christian and Texas A&M-Kingsville who are 10-4 on the season.
ON THE HORIZON
The field will be set for the LSC Tournament after Saturday's slate of games. The Patriots as they stand now would be hosting a first round contest against the number 12 seed. That game would take place on Tuesday, March 1 and if they win that contest they would move on to the second round of the LSC Tournament that takes place at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas.
