FRISCO, Texas (March 2, 2018) - Whitney Apari scored a career-high 32 points for Texas Woman's University to nearly lead the eighth-seeded Pioneers to an upset over No. 1 Angelo State, but TWU fell 75-71 in the quarterfinals of the Lone Star Tournament Friday night inside Dr Pepper Arena.
 
Apari shot 11-of-20 from the field and hit 9-of-11 from the free throw line while also registering her fourth double-double of the season with 11 rebounds. The 32 points mark the third-highest output in the LSC this season. KJ Stastny posted 11 points, Bri'anna Gray added nine, and Alexis Nezianya had eight for TWU.
 
The Pioneers (11-16, 8-12 LSC) trailed 70-60 with 2:47 to play before free throws by Apari and Stastny cut the deficit to seven a minute later. Another shot from the line by Morgan Easley cut it to 72-66 before a Stastny three-pointer from the left wing made it a one-possession game at 72-69 with 25 seconds to play.
 
Full court defense by the Pioneers forced back-to-back deflections before TWU was forced to foul, and the Belles (22-5, 16-4 LSC) sank a pair from the line to creep the lead back to five. Apari went the length of the court to cut it to 74-71, but the Belles made one free throw for a four-point advantage as the Pioneers were unable to produce another bucket in the season-ending loss.
 
The contest began with the teams trading points on the way to a 10-10 tie before Apari went coast-to-coast to put the Pioneers up, 12-10, at the 2:27 mark of the first quarter. The Belles took the lead back at 18-14 by way of a three and a jumper before Cienna Rodriguez finished a floater in the lane seconds before the buzzer.
 
Woods nailed a 15-foot jumper, and Desiree Phipps found her underneath on the next play for a 20-20 tie. Stastny completed a drive from the baseline, and Apari sank a shot from the short corner for a 28-27 TWU lead with 2:28 remaining in the first half. The Belles secured a steal and layup on the final play to take a 33-30 lead heading into the locker room.
 
Apari opened the second half with a left side drive to pull the Pioneers within 33-32, but ASU drained a three during the next trip down the floor before making a layup to go up 38-32. Another Belle layup increased the lead to 47-40 with three-and-a-half minutes to go in the third quarter, and ASU held on to the seven-point advantage leading into the fourth.
 
A free throw by Apari a minute into the final quarter cut the deficit to 51-45, but four straight ASU points increased the deficit to 10. A Belle layup upped the margin to 59-47, and ASU hung onto the 12-point edge with four minutes to play before the Pioneers made their late move.
 
Head Coach Beth Jillson said, "I really proud of the team and how they battled. I thought we gave it everything we had for 40 minutes. We beat them in a lot of categories, but it's a game of little things and free throws really hurt us down the stretch. I can't take anything away from this team and the seniors that led us."
 
The Pioneers conclude the season in the program's 15^th appearance in the LSC Championship Tournament and say goodbye to seniors Apari, Rodriguez, Grace Mitchell, Nezianya and Easley.