The first six minutes of the game set the tone, as Seattle University immediately established a double-digit lead and maintained it the rest of the afternoon to defeat Louisiana Tech Friday, 80-61, and advance to the Western Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament championship game at the Orleans Arena.
Unlike Wednesday's game, Seattle U got off to a fast start against Louisiana Tech, scoring the first 12 points of the game, the first eight by Sylvia Shephard (Alta Loma, Calif.) before two straight jumpers from Kacie Sowell (Ventura, Calif.). The Lady Techsters did not break onto the scoreboard until there was 13:23 remaining in the first half when Lulu Perry hit a layup.
The Redhawks continued to extend the lead throughout the half, going on a 12-2 scoring run over the last six minutes to go into the locker room on top at halftime, 38-14. Seattle U shot 51.7 percent from the field in the first half, including 4-for-7 from behind the three-point line, while holding Louisiana Tech to 17.2 percent field goal shooting and forcing 12 turnovers by the Lady Techsters.
"I thought we really came out of the gates in the first half and did a great job sharing the basketball. Sylvia started us off strong. We played very confident in the first half and dominated," Seattle U head coach Joan Bonvicini said.
Louisiana Tech (14-17) came out of the locker room and scored the first five points of the second half, but the Redhawks answered one-and-a-half minutes into the half with back-to-back layups from Brenda Adhiambo (Mombasa, Kenya), followed by a traditional three-point play by Maggie McCarthy (Burlingame, Calif.).
Seattle U extended its lead to 30 at 55-25 with 13 minutes left in the second half, but the Lady Techsters scored eight unanswered points to close their deficit. Louisiana Tech never quit, forcing the Redhawks into 18 second-half turnovers, but Seattle U maintained their shooting pace, making 60 percent of its field goal attempts in the second half to prevail in the semifinal contest.
"We let them back into the game in the second half with some turnovers, but this is a great team victory, and we are very excited to go on to the championship game," said Bonvicini.
Five players scored in double figures for Seattle U, led by Ashley Ward (Irvine, Calif.) with 14 points and four assists. Shephard collected 13 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals, while Sowell and Adhiambo each earned 12 points, five rebounds, and two steals. Daidra Brown (Seattle, Wash.) contributed 11 points, McCarthy added nine points, three rebounds, and two blocked shots, and Kristin Stoffel (Mill Creek, Wash.) more than doubled her career high rebounding total with seven boards in 18 key minutes on the court.
Perry led all players with 23 points, 17 of them in the second half, while Whitney Frazier scored all 12 of her points after halftime as Louisiana Tech outscored Seattle U after halftime, 47-42. The Lady Techsters improved their field goal shooting by hitting half of their second half attempts (16-of-32), plus they missed just one free throw attempt in the game, going 17-of-18 from the charity stripe.
The Redhawks will see the Idaho Vandals for the second time in the span of a week, as Idaho advanced by defeating Utah State earlier Friday, 84-82. Seattle U swept the regular season series, defeating Idaho 76-71 Dec. 29 in Moscow, Idaho, and 55-53 last Saturday, March 9, at the Connolly Center.
Seattle University (20-9), clinching back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in 25 years (1986-87 and 1987-88), will face Idaho in the WAC title game Saturday, March 16, at 12 noon in a contest to be broadcast live on ESPNU. Brian Abker will call the game from courtside on GoSeattleU.com, starting with the pregame show at 11:45 a.m.