March 16, 2007

JACKSON, Tenn. - Sixth-seeded Houston Baptist University (Texas) posted its second straight victory over a higher-seeded team, defeating second-seeded Lubbock Christian (Texas) 82-73 in the second round of the 27th Annual NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Championship at Oman Arena.

A year ago, it was Lubbock Christian that eliminated Houston Baptist from the tournament, also in the second round, but Houston Baptist put together an extended run over the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half in which it outscored Lubbock Christian 40-21. That 15-minute stretch turned a 25-20 deficit with eight minutes remaining in the first half into a 60-46 advantage after the second of back-to-back Dominique Thomas three-pointers went down with 12:15 to play.

Lubbock Christian was able to trim the deficit back to six points at 64-58 with six and a half minutes remaining when consecutive triples from Ashley Hunter and Jordan Hampton led an eight-point spurt, but Thomas again provided a basket, and Kathy Hill hit a three-pointer to push the lead back out to 11 points at 69-58 with 4:42 to play. Houston Baptist led by at least seven points the rest of the way.

Thomas finished with 23 points, six assists and five steals for Houston Baptist, while Jasmine Irving and Velencia Kuykendall posted identical lines of 14 points and five rebounds each. The Huskies shot 51 percent from the field (29-for-57) in the win, hitting eight-of-15 three-pointers for a 53 percent clip.

Jordan Hampton was 13-of-16 from the field, including four-of-five on three-pointers, in a 30-point effort, the highest single-game scoring total so far in this year's tournament. Hunter added 15 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Lady Chaps, who also shot over 50 percent from the field at a .517 clip (30-for-58).

Houston Baptist improves to 27-6 overall and makes its fifth quarterfinals appearance in the past seven seasons, and the Huskies will face the Union/Oklahoma Christian winner Saturday evening at 6 p.m. Lubbock Christian, which played in the 2006 title game, finishes its fourth NAIA Tournament appearance with a 26-7 overall record.