DENTON, Texas (Feb. 23, 2023) – Celebrations – the joyous outpouring of emotion as the result of a specific moment or instance. Celebrations and sports go in hand-in-hand. Reactions, pure and unfiltered, make the most magical moments unforgettable, cemented in-time by the perfect celebration.
 
Tonight was a storybook celebration – one of those times seared into your brain forever.
 
In their final home game of the regular season, the Texas Woman's basketball team faced UT Tyler. The team's met for the first time this season on the court in Kitty Magee Arena.
 
TWU (24-3, 18-2) came into tonight holding the best record in the East Division and the best record in the Lone Star Conference. With tonight and Saturday remaining on the schedule (both against UT Tyler), the Pioneers had to win at least on meeting with UT Tyler (22-6, 17-4), who came into tonight with three conference losses, to clinch the regular season title.
 
Clinch the title they did – in dramatic fashion. With 6.4 seconds on the clock, the Pioneers had possession on the baseline under their basket. Sadie Moyer inbounded the ball to Ashley Ingram, who quickly threw a skip pass to Keslyn King on the left wing. King dribbled, but with nowhere to go, she swung the ball to her right to Jada Celsur.
 
Seconds ticked off the clock. Celsur took one dribble to left, hit a quick step back to gain some separation from the pressure defense. Then, she shot a three from the top of the key and drained it, nothing but net to win the game 48-47 and clinch the regular season title for the Pioneers.
 
Celsur, who finished with eight points on the night, had only hit one three prior to the game winner. Nevertheless, her confidence and the trust from her teammates guided her to freely take and make the final shot.  
 
With the win over UT Tyler, the Pioneers claimed the East Division title and became Lone Star Conference Regular Season Champions for the first time in program history.
 
TWU fought back from a slow start to be in the position to win the game at the end. In the first quarter, the Pioneers were held to just eight points, while the Patriots took a quick 13-8 lead to start the second quarter.
 
The Pioneers turned the tide in the second, not only finding their footing on offense but increasing the pressure on defense.
 
Keslyn King ignited the scoring in the second quarter for the Pioneers. She opened the first two minutes with a 7-3 run on her own, hitting two jump shots and a three to cut the deficit to one point, 18-16.
 
King spread the wealth on an assist to Scout Huffman for a three, which gave the Pioneers their first lead of the night, 18-16.
 
The three point bug quickly spread across the Pioneers, as Moyer drained a three to increase the TWU lead to eight points, 24-18, with four minutes remaining in the half. Then, a basket by Huffman would send the Pioneers into the break with the lead, 26-20.
 
TWU scored their most points in a quarter in the second, 18, and they held the Patriots to just seven points—the 13th time this season the Pioneers have held their opponent to less than 10 points in a quarter.
 
After halftime, the Patriots quickly tied the game at 26-each on back-to-back made three pointers. A three by Moyer broke the tie for TWU, but not for long, as the Patriots mounted a 4-0 run in the next three minutes of the quarter.
 
However, the Pioneers' defense held firm, because while they were not scoring, they only gave up four points in that span of time.
 
TWU answered their drought by closing the quarter on a 7-0 run, which ignited the crowd and heavily switched the momentum of the game.
 
Entering the final 10 minutes of action with a 36-32 advantage, the Pioneers and the Patriots traded baskets for the majority of the fourth quarter. With 3:17 on the clock, a layup by Huffman tied the game at 45.
 
With the game tied, the defensive intensity was high. As the Pioneer crowd chanted defense, TWU responded by holding the Patriots scoreless until the 27 second mark of the fourth.
 
With fouls to give and timeouts left, TWU fouled twice, leaving 16 seconds on the clock for the Patriots with possession. Not wanting to send them to the free throw just yet, Ngozi Obineke made a winning play off a UT Tyler inbound pass. Obineke trapped and stole the ball, giving TWU possession and the opportunity to take a timeout and advance the ball.
 
As UT Tyler had fouls to give, they fouled twice, including their last on Ingram to set up the final inbounds play for Celsur and the court-rushing win.
 
In a low scoring contest, the Pioneers scored 17 second chance points and the bench contributed 22 points.
 
Huffman led the Pioneers with 12 points and eight rebounds. Moyer added 11 points and seven rebounds, and King scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds.
 
Also topping the leaderboard in rebounds was Obineke with seven and Ingram with five.
 
King and Ceslur both finished with four assists.
 
Since it was the final regular season home game in Kitty Magee Arena, the Pioneers celebrated their three seniors: Moyer, Obineke and Brielle Woods, who have made a lasting impact on TWU.
 
"First, thank you to the crowd tonight," TWU Head Coach Beth Jillson said. "We could not have won this game without their energy and encouragement. As a team, we stayed connected the entire time tonight and fought to win the game. The final steal by Ngozi set up the chance for us to win the game. Then, the shot by Jada – I am so proud of the confidence she had in the shot. We will take the celebration of tonight with us into the next game and postseason. Also, I want to give a huge shoutout to our seniors. Their dedication and leadership means so much to our program and continues to guide us to daily success."
 
The Pioneers will go on the road for their final game of the regular season. They will play UT Tyler in Tyler, Texas on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 1 p.m.