Lady Buffs stampede the Zias
By: Kelsi Gray
Issue date: 2/8/10 Section: Sports
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The Zias scored the first points of the game with a lay-up by Kara Bible (Jr., Albuquerque N.M./Cibola HS). The Zias held their lead for a few possessions with lay-ups by Til-Lois Fifer (Jr., Tulia Texas/Tulia HS) and Tori Northcutt (Jr., Clovis N.M./Clovis HS). Joni Unruh put the Lady Buffs on the board with a lay-up of her own.
A point battle began. With less than seven minutes in the first half, Celeste Belizario (So., Amarillo, Texas./Tascosa HS) scored a lay-up and followed it with a free throw. The points tied the game for the first time.
The point battle continued. When Cat Clay (Jr., Deming N.M./Deming HS) laid it in for two, Unruh followed suit. Vanessa O'Neal (Sr., Clovis N.M./Clovis HS) scored two with a jumper from inside, but Aly Sherman of WTA&MU made two free throws on the very next possession. When Belizario made a lay-up in the last minute, Holly Isaacs hit a 3-point buzzer beater and put the Lady Buffs up 35-33 at the half.
At the start of the second half, Unruh made a break and took it to the hole. Her drive resulted in no points though, with Northcutt holding her ground and drawing the offensive foul. Northcutt then tied the game by knocking in two free throws.
Following the points by Northcutt, the Lady Buffs went on a 16 point run.
"The pressure got a little more intense and by the time we got used to it we just couldn't catch up," O'Neal said.
Try as they may, the Zias couldn't stop the Lady Buffs. Turnovers played a large role in this run. The Zias had a total of 25 turnovers for the game.
"We just had too many turnovers and they converted too many of them into baskets," Zias head coach Linden Weese said. Finally breaking the Lady Buffs' run was Nikki Ingram (Fr., Albuquerque N.M./La Cueva HS) with a lay-up through West Texas defenders.
The Zias fought back in the second half but were never able to regain their lead and dropped their second consecutive Lone Star Conference game.
The Zias return to action on Wednesday, February 10th against Tarleton State at Greyhound Arena. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.