Lady Bucs Down South Plains; Advance to Elite Eight

Casper, WY- The 8^th seeded Shelton State women's basketball team advanced to the NJCAA DI Elite Eight with a wire-to-wire 69-59 win over the 9^th seeded South Plains Lady Texans.

Alana Obianozie led the Lady Bucs with 22 points on 8-17 from the field. Makala Hobdy poured in 20 points on 6-11 shooting, while Arissa Jenkins drained 3 trey balls enroute to an 11-point performance. Lameria Thomas pulled down a game high 15 rebounds.

Obianozie went to work from the start scoring the first 8 points for the Lady Bucs, including 2 shots from beyond the arc. Shelton was able to convert 3 of their 8 attempts from deep in the opening frame and outrebounded the Lady Texans 12-6, leading to a 24-9 advantage.

The Lady Texans would not go quietly as they responded with an 11-3 run to start the 2^nd quarter. The Lady Bucs would close the quarter on a 9-4 run to limit the damage. The ACCC player of the year, Julie Nekolna, picked up her 3^rd foul with 2 minutes to play in the 2^nd quarter, but the Lady Bucs held on to a 36-25 lead going into the half.

With Nekolna on the bench, head coach Madonna Thompson made the decision to play 4 guards and move Lameria Thomas into the post to start the 2^nd half. This decision would prove to be difference as the Lady Bucs outscored South Plains 16-8 in the quarter, giving themselves insurance for the final 10 minutes.

The 4^th quarter saw the Lady Texans storm back, cutting the lead to just 9 points with 1:20 to play, but clutch free throw from the Lady Bucs put the Texans to rest.

Shelton State advances to their 1^st Elite Eight since 2020-21 season. The Lady Buce will face the #1 overall seed Chipola College for the 2^nd time this season, the Lady Indians defeated Shelton 57-53 on December 30^th in Americus, GA.

Tip-off is set for 10:00 AM (MT) at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper, Wyoming.