Feb. 26, 2004

ABILENE, Texas - Setting the Scene

Hardin-Simmons heads to Clinton, Miss., looking for its sixth straight American Southwest Conference Tournament title in a row and their seventh straight American Southwest Conference crown in a row. The Cowgirls are the only team to ever win the tournament...HSU is 3-1 against the teams in the field this year and have beaten all three teams by at least 10 points this year...The Cowgirls are looking to advance to the NCAA playoffs for the seventh straight year.

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About the Cowgirls

Hardin-Simmons has been led by its tri-captains Lauren Harris, Diana Martinez and Veronica Jones. One of those three players have led or tied for the team lead in scoring in 22 of 25 games this season...Harris and Jones are the only seniors on the team and they have a career record of 98-11...Freshman Melissa Henley has come on strong late in the year and led the Cowgirls in the win over Howard Payne with a career-best 24 points en routes to ASC Player of the Week honors...Junior Keila Remmele gives the Cowgirls an interior defensive presence as she is among the league leaders in steals by post players...Freshmen Lyssa Dennard and Magna Green join junior transfer Melissa Forth to form the top of the bench rotation. Green can play either post position and is the first post off the bench. Forth can also play multiple positions and is the first guard off the bench. Dennard can play on the perimeter. Veteran post players, Hannah Jones and Erika Keese, are the only other players that have played in all 25 games...HSU has won its games in the first six ASC Tournaments by an average of 16.8 points, only one game has been less than five points, a 59-58 win over East Texas Baptist in 2000.

On The Air

The rest of the Cowgirls' schedule will be on the radio (90.5 fm) and also on the web at www.hsuathletics.com. Veteran HSU voice Jimmy Pogue will handle the call solo this weekend. Color analyst Chad Grubbs will be taking care of his newborn child back in Abilene. The pregame show will begin around 7:45 p.m on Friday, depending on the end time of the first semifinal.

Next Up

The Cowgirls would earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament with a win at the ASC Tournament. With a loss, the Cowgirls could still get into the NCAA Tournament with an at-large selection. The tournament filed will be announced Sunday night at 9 p.m. central.

The Series

HSU leads the all-time series' with Austin College (13-7), Howard Payne (40-15) and Mississippi College (8-2). The Cowgirls defeated AC 68-48 in Abilene on Dec. 1, won 76-66 at Miss. College on Jan. 10 and split with Howard Payne, falling 63-39 in Brownwood and winning 74-59 in Abilene.

Last Year's ASC Tournament

The Cowgirls rolled past LeTourneau and Mississippi College in the ASC Tournament a year ago at the Mabee Complex. In front of a regional television audience, HSU defeated LeTourneau 111-78 and MC 99-73 in the finals. The Cowgirls' Kendra Anderson was named the MVP for the fourth straight year.

Harris Breaks 3-Ball Records

Senior sharpshooter Lauren Harris broke the school record for career 3-pointers when she hit one at UT-Tyler. She also set the school single-game record she previously held with Shanna Briggs, when she hit nine treys against UT-Dallas. Against Sul Ross State, Harris set the school record for 3-pointers in a season. She now has 76 makes on the year.

Passing the Rock

Junior guard Diana Martinez has set the school record for assists in a season with 137, passing Donna Roberts 131. The junior from Comanche also had the first triple double in school history when she had 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in a win over McMurry.

In the Polls Hardin-Simmons is 10th in both national polls this week. The Cowgirls are up from 14th in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Poll, and down from ninth in the D3Hoops.com poll. They are now first in the region, which could earn them a first round bye if they were to win the ASC Tournament.

Bringing Home the Hardware

Senior Lauren Harris has already racked up two prestigious honors his year. She was named one of 10 finalists for the Josten's Trophy, given to the Division III player of the year. She was also named first-team academic all-district by CoSIDA and will go on the national ballot for All-American honors.

Head Coach Shanna Briggs

Almost two years into her Cowgirl career, head coach Shanna Briggs has posted a 50-3 mark. Last year she led the Cowgirls to a No. 1 national ranking, an American Southwest Conference Championship and coached six players to All-ASC honors. She also coached Kendra Anderson to national player of the year honors. Briggs was awarded ASC West Division Conference Coach of the Year. Briggs came to HSU from Decatur High School after a record-setting playing career for the Cowgirls. At Hardin-Simmons, Briggs was a three-time all-conference selection, including first-team honors in 1994 and 1995. Her teams won three conference titles at Hardin-Simmons and she played in two NAIA National Tournaments (1994 and 1995). Briggs scored 1,365 points to rank fifth on the career scoring list at Hardin-Simmons and is the school's all-time leader in points scored in a season (576) and 3-pointers made in a game (8), season (71) and career (146). She is second in 3-point percentage making 105-of-242 (.434) shots. She also ranks fifth in career assists (229) and fourth in blocked shots (38).