Women's Basketball | 2/21/2019 10:08:00 PM

Box Score Waxahachie, Texas – Not since the 2005-06 season had an Oklahoma Panhandle State University women's basketball team qualified for a conference post-season tournament. But that drought came to an end on Thursday evening as the Aggies (14-13, 10-11 SAC) topped Southwestern Assemblies of God University (19-10, 13-8 SAC), 73-70, on the road to lock down a berth in the eight-team Sooner Athletic Conference tournament.
 
"I'm just extremely proud of how we played and our effort," said OPSU Head Coach Victor Esparza. "We can now enjoy clinching a spot for the first time since 2006.This group deserves it. We have had some ups and downs, but we are excited about what is ahead of us.
 
"I thought our defense was really good. We just have to secure rebounds and not give up second-chance points. I was happy with how hard we played and how focused we were."
 
Esparza received contributions from all quarters in the playoff-clinching game, as eight of the nine Aggies to see action produced points. The OPSU bench out-dueled the Lady Lions reserves, 17 points to 12. The Aggies also held a 26-22 advantage for points in the paint.
 
Panhandle State shot an impressive 47 percent (27-58) from the field. Guard Taylor Acosta led the way for OPSU with 19 points on a 7-for-13 shooting night from the floor. Acosta had four buckets from beyond the arc, three coming in the first half alone to account for her nine points at the break. She also had a game-leading five assists.
 
In all, four Aggies hit double-digit point totals. Joining Acosta was Addison Munsch, who finished with 15 points on the night after tallying 11 points in the first quarter alone. Munsch had a game-leading nine rebounds, as well.
 
Nadia Hayes hit 5-of-10 from the floor, to go along with 3-of-4 free throws, to finish with 13 points. Hayes also corralled seven rebounds. Shambri Kelso booked 10 points and grabbed four caroms.
 
The Aggies held precarious leads after the first quarter, 18-16, and at the half, 38-35, over SAGU. A back-and-forth third quarter ended with the two teams knotted at 58-58, before the Aggies out-scored the host Lions, 15-12, in the final stanza.
 
OPSU will close out the regular season on Saturday (Feb. 23/2 p.m.) at Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas.