PHOTO BY AMANDA GARCIA | PULLING TOGETHER: The Lady Buffs hope to continue winning as they march to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the first time since 1997.
Lady Buff basketball has continued on its winning streak without missing a beat, despite the loss of its leading scorer, Emily Brister. “Find a way” has proven to be the most appropriate team motto.
In Brister’s absence, Jamie Dreiling, senior forward, has averaged 20 points a game and Courtney Lee, senior guard, has added 15 points a game.
If Dreiling and Lee are struggling, the team can count on Holly Issacs, Dixie Bell, Joni Unruh and he rest of the team to hold everything together.
The Lady Buffs head to San Antonio for the Elite Eight Tournament after defeating Central Oklahoma, 65-52, and claiming the South Central Region
Championship, March 13-16.
In that game, with nine seconds left to play, Brister checked into the game and threw the ball up in the air after the buzzer went off.
“That meant so much to us to have Emily [Brister] out there, “ Dreiling said.
She is like our mother. She is there to push us every step of the way.”
The Lady Buffs play like they are a family, not just a team.
“As I said before, this team has a ton of chemistry and character,” Krista Gerlich, WT head coach, said.
We didn’t play in the first half against UCO, but we were able to come out in the second half and get things going.”
The National Championship is within reach of the Lady Buffs.
Their next task will be to “find a way” to win the next three games.