Cowgirls Set To Host Maryville :: Game Set For KTAB At 7 p.m.

March 4, 2004

Hardin-Simmons' seventh-ranked women's basketball team will host Maryville (Tenn.) at 7 p.m. Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Division III Championships at the Mabee Complex. The game will be televised on KTAB-TV in the Abilene area.

Setting the Scene

Hardin-Simmons is in the NCAA Division III Championships for the sixth straight year and are one win away form their sixth straight NCAA Sweet 16 appearance...The Cowgirls advanced to the NCAA's with its win over Howard Payne in the final of the ASC Tournament last weekend...Just like a year ago, the Cowgirls home playoff games will be televised locally in Abilene. The Cowgirls had four games on local TV last year...Hardin-Simmons and Maryville have never met in basketball.

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About the Cowgirls

Hardin-Simmons is led by its tri-captains Lauren Harris, Veronica Jones and Diana Martinez. One of those three players have led the Cowgirls in scoring 24 of the 27 games this season. Harris and Jones are the only seniors on the team and they have posted a 100-11 mark in their four years and are 57-2 at the Mabee Complex. HSU plays an up-tempo style that relies on pressure defense and good rebounding. Its guards can explode at anytime on the perimeter and the post play has been solid and continues to improve as the season goes along.

About Maryville

The Lady Scots come into the game with a 22-6 record and are led by preseason All-American Hayley Smith. The talented wing player had 23 points, seven assists, five rebounds and five steals in just 20 minutes as the Scots defeated Mary-Baldwin 101-51 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday night. Post Charise Bain had 27 points and 15 rebounds in the win. Maryville is the champion of the Gulf South Athletic Conference and is located in Maryville, Tenn. Coach Dee Bell is in his second year as the Lady scots' head man.

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 and Chad Grubbs will handle the color commentary. The game will also be televised live on KTAB-TV (CBS) in Abilene, Al Pickett will handle the call.

Next Up

A win would send Hardin-Simmons to the sectional tournament for the sixth straight season. The location of that sectional will be announced on Sunday. A loss ends the season.

Last Year's NCAA Tournament

The Cowgirls went into the NCAA Tournament undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the nation a year ago. After a first round bye, HSU disposed of Randolph-Macon in the second round104-80, behind 28 points and eight 3-pointers from Lauren Harris. HSU then hosted the sectional tournament and dropped a heartbreaking 67-61 decision to eventual national champion Trinity. HSU fell behind early, took the lead late in the game, but was unable to hold on to the lead. National Player of the Year Kendra Anderson ended her stellar career with 33 points and 11 rebounds.

In the Polls

Hardin-Simmons is up to seventh in both national polls this week. The Cowgirls are up from 10th in last week's poll. They finished the year first in the South Region rankings and were the only Division III team in Texas to make the playoffs.

Quick Hitters

HSU is 23-0 when ahead at halftime, 24-0 when it shoots better than its opponents and is 25-0 when it has scored more than 50 points...Diana Martinez had a career-high 24 points against Austin College in the ASC Tournament...Freshman forward Magna Green had double-figure points off the bench in both ASC Tournament games...The Cowgirls are 12-0 at the Mabee Complex and are 5-0 in second round NCAA Championship games at the intimidating home for the Cowgirls.

Head Coach Shanna Briggs

Almost two full years into her Cowgirl career, head coach Shanna Briggs has posted a 52-3 mark. Last year she led the Cowgirls to a No. 1 national ranking, an American Southwest Conference Championship and coached nineplayers 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 each of her first two seasons. 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).

Harris, Martinez Earn First-Team All-ASC West

Lauren Harris was named first-team All-American Southwest Conference by the league's coaches. She was also first-team All-ASC West, where she was joined by Diana Martinez. Despite its remarkable domination of the league, it marks the first time since the 2000 season that the Cowgirls have had two first-team All-ASC West selections in the same season.

Jones Gets Defensive

Veronica Jones was named the ASC West defensive player of the year marking the second straight season a Cowgirl has won the award. The senior from Brady is the leader of the Cowgirls' stingy defensive effort. She was also named second-team All-ASC West, earning All-ASC honors for the first time in her career.

Henley Named Top Freshman

Center Melissa Henley has had a stellar freshman season and was rewarded for it with the ASC Freshman of the Year award. She averaged 9.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per outing, while shooting 51 percent from the field. Henley started 21 of 27 games as a true freshman. Henley and men's basketball player Zach Pickelman gave HSU a clean sweep of the Freshman of the Year awards.

Briggs Nabs Second Straight Award

Shanna Briggs was named the ASC West Coach of the Year for the second straight year. Briggs has compiled a remarkable 52-3 record in her two seasons with the Cowgirls. She is also a finalist for South Region Coach of the Year by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.

Harris is Smart Too

Lauren Harris has won a variety of awards on and off the court in her career, but has gathered two awards recently that sets her apart. She was named a third-team Academic All-American by CoSIDA. There were 15 players in all of the non-division I playing schools on the team. Those players came from over 800 schools. Harris was also named a Josten's finalist, which is given to the student-athlete of the year in Division III.

M-V-P

Junior guard Diana Martinez carried the Cowgirl basketball team on her back in the American Southwest Conference Tournament last weekend and was named the MVP of the tournament. She is the sixth straight Cowgirl to be the tournament's MVP. Martinez averaged 21.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, three assists and two steals per game in the tournament. Lauren Harris and Veronica Jones joined Martinez on the All-Tournament team.

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 78 makes on the year.

Passing the Rock

Junior guard Diana Martinez has set the school record for assists in a season with 143, 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.