Apaches News
Tue, Mar 20, 2007 - [Women's Basketball]
Joe Buie, Tyler Morning Telegraph
SALINA, Kan. - Sixteen teams with one common dream of winning a national championship.
The Tyler Junior College Apache Ladies will try to take the first step toward fulfilling that dream with an opening-round victory in the NJCAA Division I Women's National Basketball Tournament.
The Tyler Junior College Apache Ladies will try to take the first step toward fulfilling that dream with an opening-round victory in the NJCAA Division I Women's National Basketball Tournament.
The Apache Ladies (26-6) will take on No. 10 Chipola College (Fla.) at noon Tuesday at the Bicentennial Center.
TJC will play its second game of the double-elimination tournament on Wednesday against either Odessa or Casper (Wyo.) - at 6 p.m. with a win in the first round, or at 4 p.m. with an opening-round loss.
The Region XIV championship for the Apache Ladies adds to an already successful decade for the women's basketball program.
They won the national title in 2000 under current Stephen F. Austin head coach Lee Ann Riley. Under current coach Trenia Jones, TJC finished fifth at nationals in 2001 and then won the consolation title in 2003.
The Apache Ladies are back in Salina - an 81/2-hour trip from Tyler - for the first time in four years. Their 2-0 record at the regional tournament snapped a streak of three years without a playoff win.
Not many people were picking them to make it back this year - even Jones considered it a long shot - but TJC gelled late in the season and has now won six games in a row and eight of nine.
Tuesday's opponent, Chipola (27-6), is also riding a six-game winning streak and has victories in 13 of its last 14 games.
The only common opponent for TJC and Chipola is Trinity Valley, which swept the Apache Ladies in the regular season but went 0-2 against Chipola.
The Lady Indians have earned a reputation as a tough defensive team under fourth-year head coach David Lane, whose team defeated No. 6 Gulf Coast (Fla.) Community College in their regional final, 60-57.
"We know Chipola is going to be pretty big," Jones said. "They are supposedly one of the best defensive teams we're going to ever meet. They are going to play a tough man-to-man (defense) from what we've heard. They don't switch, they do a great job taking charges and they are very physical."
Chipola forced 23 turnovers in the regional final and limited Gulf Coast to 32.4-percent shooting from the field, including 2-of-14 on 3-pointers. Chipola also blocked seven shots and had nine steals.
"A lot of times our defense will get us some transition points," Lane said. "The last couple of years we've had some pretty good guards. This year we didn't force the kind of turnovers like last year, but our field-goal defense was stronger.
"Our goal is to contest every shot and put pressure on you."
Offensively, Lane said he has seven players that average between nine and 13 points per game. Latoya Brown, a 5-6 sophomore, and C.J. Pace, a 5-10 sophomore, shared high-point honors in the regional final with 12.
The up-tempo Apache Ladies have four players averaging double-figure points, three of them sophomores.
Jamia Malone, the point guard, averages 15.1 points, 3.9 assists and 2.3 steals. Freshman wing Yoshica Spears is next at 11.7 points per game, followed by Laquisha Cook (11.0 ppg.) and Kristin Moore (10.6 ppg.).
Also, Jones will be looking for big things from 6-6 freshman post April Murphy, who averages 7.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks.
"They are very athletic," Lane said of the Apache Ladies. "They enjoy shooting the ball and they don't pass up a lot of shots. They run some high-low (with the posts) and their strength is offensive rebounding and their ability to run.
"The big thing for us is boxing out and taking care of the defensive boards."
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Chipola College
At A Glance
Location: Marianna, Fla. (panhandle).
Population: 10,000.
College Enrollment: 1,677.
Mascot: Lady Indians.
Head Coach: David Lane (fourth year).
Notes: Chipola has advanced to the national tournament three years in a row at the expense of Gulf Coast (Fla.) Community College, which won the national title in 2003. ... Lane's Chipola team is 4-0 against TJC nemesis Trinity Valley. That includes two wins this season and one in the second round of nationals last year, when Chipola finished fourth. ... Chipola is the only team to have beaten top-ranked Southeastern Illinois, which enters the national tournament at 31-1. ... Chipola is seeded sixth while TJC is seeded 11th.
Original Link to Article: http://tylerpaper.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070320/SPORTS/703200317/-1/SPORTS
TJC will play its second game of the double-elimination tournament on Wednesday against either Odessa or Casper (Wyo.) - at 6 p.m. with a win in the first round, or at 4 p.m. with an opening-round loss.
The Region XIV championship for the Apache Ladies adds to an already successful decade for the women's basketball program.
They won the national title in 2000 under current Stephen F. Austin head coach Lee Ann Riley. Under current coach Trenia Jones, TJC finished fifth at nationals in 2001 and then won the consolation title in 2003.
The Apache Ladies are back in Salina - an 81/2-hour trip from Tyler - for the first time in four years. Their 2-0 record at the regional tournament snapped a streak of three years without a playoff win.
Not many people were picking them to make it back this year - even Jones considered it a long shot - but TJC gelled late in the season and has now won six games in a row and eight of nine.
Tuesday's opponent, Chipola (27-6), is also riding a six-game winning streak and has victories in 13 of its last 14 games.
The only common opponent for TJC and Chipola is Trinity Valley, which swept the Apache Ladies in the regular season but went 0-2 against Chipola.
The Lady Indians have earned a reputation as a tough defensive team under fourth-year head coach David Lane, whose team defeated No. 6 Gulf Coast (Fla.) Community College in their regional final, 60-57.
"We know Chipola is going to be pretty big," Jones said. "They are supposedly one of the best defensive teams we're going to ever meet. They are going to play a tough man-to-man (defense) from what we've heard. They don't switch, they do a great job taking charges and they are very physical."
Chipola forced 23 turnovers in the regional final and limited Gulf Coast to 32.4-percent shooting from the field, including 2-of-14 on 3-pointers. Chipola also blocked seven shots and had nine steals.
"A lot of times our defense will get us some transition points," Lane said. "The last couple of years we've had some pretty good guards. This year we didn't force the kind of turnovers like last year, but our field-goal defense was stronger.
"Our goal is to contest every shot and put pressure on you."
Offensively, Lane said he has seven players that average between nine and 13 points per game. Latoya Brown, a 5-6 sophomore, and C.J. Pace, a 5-10 sophomore, shared high-point honors in the regional final with 12.
The up-tempo Apache Ladies have four players averaging double-figure points, three of them sophomores.
Jamia Malone, the point guard, averages 15.1 points, 3.9 assists and 2.3 steals. Freshman wing Yoshica Spears is next at 11.7 points per game, followed by Laquisha Cook (11.0 ppg.) and Kristin Moore (10.6 ppg.).
Also, Jones will be looking for big things from 6-6 freshman post April Murphy, who averages 7.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks.
"They are very athletic," Lane said of the Apache Ladies. "They enjoy shooting the ball and they don't pass up a lot of shots. They run some high-low (with the posts) and their strength is offensive rebounding and their ability to run.
"The big thing for us is boxing out and taking care of the defensive boards."
---
Chipola College
At A Glance
Location: Marianna, Fla. (panhandle).
Population: 10,000.
College Enrollment: 1,677.
Mascot: Lady Indians.
Head Coach: David Lane (fourth year).
Notes: Chipola has advanced to the national tournament three years in a row at the expense of Gulf Coast (Fla.) Community College, which won the national title in 2003. ... Lane's Chipola team is 4-0 against TJC nemesis Trinity Valley. That includes two wins this season and one in the second round of nationals last year, when Chipola finished fourth. ... Chipola is the only team to have beaten top-ranked Southeastern Illinois, which enters the national tournament at 31-1. ... Chipola is seeded sixth while TJC is seeded 11th.
Original Link to Article: http://tylerpaper.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070320/SPORTS/703200317/-1/SPORTS
