LSUS Basketball Sweeps Bacone

MUSKOGEE, Okla. - The Lady Pilots (15-3, 10-2) were able to overcome a sluggish first half to defeat the Bacone Lady Warriors 69-49.  Despite a poor shooting performance in the first half from the Lady Pilots (30%), they carried a five-point lead (34-29) to the locker room at intermission. 

For the second consecutive game, the Lady Pilots played more aggressively and with a lot more energy in the second half.  "I was very pleased with how we came out of halftime and played with more energy and effort," commented Head Coach Ronnie Howell.  The Lady Pilots picked up their energy in the second half and shot the ball a lot better from the three-point line. 

The Lady Pilots were led in scoring by shooting guard Christy Willis with 20 points.  She was accurate from three-point range to say the least knocking down 6 of 7 treys on the night.  The only other Lady Pilot to reach double figures in scoring was Sharde Henry with 12 points. 

"We didn't come out and play as well as we had hoped to play in the first half.  I am proud of the team though with their effort and energy in the second half.  This is our fourth consecutive road win and makes the trip back to Shreveport a lot shorter," commented Head Coach Ronnie Howell.  

Tonight's win extends their streak to five and keeps the Lady Pilots well within striking range for the RRAC Regular Season Title.  They are currently only one game back from league leader Wiley College. 

The Lady Pilots are excited to play their next contest in the friendly confines of The Dock.  They will host St. Thomas Lady Celts Thursday, January 24^th at 5:30 p.m. in RRAC play.   

Pilots Complete Road Trip With Blowout

The LSU Shreveport Pilots (13-4, 9-3) cruised past the Bacone College Warriors by a score of 98-73.  The victory keeps the Pilots in the hunt for the RRAC regular season title.  The Pilots are currently in second place only one game out of the lead behind SAGU. 

The Pilots ended up running away with the victory but it wasn't because of a strong beginning.  The Warriors connected on back-to-back three-pointers to start the game and jumped out to a 10-0 lead.   The Pilots were able to get on the scoreboard with a bucket by Mark Polite.  They continued to climb their way back into the game and took their first lead with 8 minutes remaining in the first half.  The Pilots were leading at intermission by a score of 40-34.

The second half was all LSUS outscoring the Warriors by 19 points (58-39).  Rodney Milum had the hot hand from three-point range (7-17) and scored 25 points.  Brandon Davis once again was too much for the opponents collecting his fourth consecutive double-double leading the Pilots in scoring (31) and rebounds (10).

"It's never easy to win on the road during conference play," commented Pilots Head Coach Kyle Blankenship.  "We didn't get off to a very good start giving up the first ten points of the game but stayed the course and was able to get the lead going into halftime.  We are glad to get two road wins but don't have much time to enjoy them.  We have a big match-up Thursday night against St. Thomas.  We are just glad we finally get to play back at home."

The Pilots will host University of St. Thomas (13-4, 8-3) Thursday, January 24^th at 7:30 p.m.  The Pilots are looking forward to entering the NAIA Coaches Top 25 Poll which will be released Tuesday afternoon.