Lady Mats win tournament opener

AWC tops South Ga. Tech to advance

LUBBOCK, Texas. (KYMA, KECY) - Arizona Western College Women's Head Basketball Coach Patrick Cunningham is a man of great patience.

The last time he coached the Lady Matadors to the NJCAA Tournament was back in 2002.

20 years later, his patience at making another appearance in the big dance has paid off.

As the #8 seed, the Lady Mats opened up tournament play in the 2nd round against #9 seed South Georgia Tech College.

Against the Jets, the Lady Mats would get off to a quick start, scoring the 1st 10 points of the game and finishing the 1st quarter with a 23-8 advantage.

Besides critical early 3-point baskets by guards Faith Silva and Buse Utku, Teresa Da Silva proved to be the key playmaker; scoring 12 of her 18 overall points in the 1st half.

AWC would increase their lead to as much as 20 points in the 2nd half, before the Jets made a late run.

But Da Silva delivered the dagger, dropping a 3-point dime with 2 minutes to go to help ice the game for AWC by a final score of 60-46.

Star forward Alliance Ndiba didn't play in this game due to a re-aggravated knee injury she suffered in the Region 1 Championship Game.

The Lady Mats advance to the quarterfinal round, as they take on Tyler Community College this Saturday.

Opening tip-off at Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock, Texas will be at 11 am local time.