ALLEN, Texas (Mar. 5) – Sophomore forward Emily Spector led three TWU players in double figures to help the Pioneers to a 70-62 win over Tarleton State in the 2015 LSC Championship quarterfinals. 
 
TWU advances to the tournament semifinals for the second straight season and will take on West Texas A&M on Friday, Mar. 6 at 6:00 p.m.  The Lady Buffs are the top seed in the eight-team LSC tournament and currently ranked No. 6 in the nation.
 
Spector shot 70.0 percent (7-for-10) from the floor and scored a team-high 16 points while sophomore center Erin Maxwell added 12 points off the Pioneers' bench.  Senior Ria Pateraki chipped in 11 points for TWU.  Maxwell also led the team with eight rebounds.  Senior Toree Mason and Ashley Salazar handed out four assists each for the Pioneers.  Sophomore Deja Pointer also came off the TWU bench and added seven points and five rebounds.
 
The Pioneers jumped out to an early 10-4 lead in the first five minutes.  Tarleton State responded with an 11-2 run to go on top 15-12.  After both teams traded baskets, TWU outscored the TexAnns, 7-0, in the final five minutes of the half to take a 28-22 lead at the break.
 
Tarleton State came out of the locker room on fire and scored 10 straight points to take a 32-28 lead.  The Pioneers responded with a 6-0 run on two field goals by Pointer and a lay-up by Maxwell to regain the lead.  After six ties and four lead changes, TWU used a 10-2 run to take a 60-53 lead at 2:56 mark.  TSU cut the deficit to three points with four straight free throws but the Pioneers responded with 10-0 run to seal the win.
 
"It was a battle between two really good teams and the key to our win was rebounding and defensive transition," said TWU head coach Beth Jillson.  "We had lot of different players step up and played big-time minutes, especially when we went ahead in the second half.  Getting the ball inside was our game plan and we had three of our post players in double figures."
 
After shooting 34.5 percent in the first half, the Pioneers were lights out in the second as they made 60.0 percent of their shots.  TWU also outrebounded the TexAnns, 38-31, and blocked seven TexAnn shots.
 
TWU is now 8-10 all-time in LSC Championship play and 1-2 versus Tarleton State in the postseason.  The win tonight over the TexAnns was a significant one for TWU as it gave the Pioneers two wins in a season over their rivals from Stephenville for the time since 1994-95 and the second time ever. TWU and Tarleton State split their two regular season meetings earlier this year.