LUBBOCK, Texas — After a few days of travel and practice, the top-ranked Three Rivers women’s basketball team finally knows who they’re playing in the NJCAA National Tournament.
Tyler (Texas), the No. 17 seed, edged 16th-seeded Chipola (Fla.) 67-65 in overtime on Wednesday morning at the Rip Griffin Center.
Soon after the thrilling opening game of the tournament with a little bit of free basketball at the end, the Raiders were in the gym with a game plan against the Apaches.
“Rebounding and boxing out will be key,” Three Rivers coach Alex Wiggs said. “We just need to be able to get the ball because we can only score when we have the ball.”
Tyler’s Deborah Ogayemei is a rebounding threat averaging a double-double per game with 10.0 points and she’s 17th in the nation in rebounds per game at 10.8. On Monday, she had 13 points and 19 rebounds.
“We just have to limit her as much as we can,” Wiggs said. “It’s going to be tough with her, you don’t average a double-double by accident. She’s going to be aggressive, but we’ve got to limit her production in order for us to come out on top.”
Tyler comes into the second round with a record of 21-8 and their play on the floor has drawn some similarities to a Region XVI team that Three Rivers (28-0) is very familiar with.
“They’re very similar to Moberly Area,” Wiggs said. “They’re aggressive in the half court defense as well. We’ve got to make sure to keep the ball in front of us and control the tempo.”
Tyler’s five starters each scored eight points or more led by 13 from Ogayemei and Taryn Wills.
Offensively, Wiggs feels confident with what’s worked for his team all year with plenty of firepower from the perimeter and post players able to get the offensive boards.
“We need to make sure that we’re taking good shots and being aggressive when we have the ball,” Wiggs said.
Elsewhere in the bracket, No. 9 South Georgia Tech defeated No. 24 Monroe (N.Y.) 77-26 and will play Arizona Western at 4 p.m. Thursday. The winner of that game will play the winner of the Three Rivers-Tyler game at 1 p.m. Saturday in the quarterfinals.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 15 Moberly Area lost to No. 18 Eastern Florida 69-54. Jones, the No. 23 seed and last year’s top seed that lost in the second round, beat No. 10 New Mexico 61-52 while No. 13 South Plains (Texas) also advanced.
Fans can stream the action online at www.njcaa.org/network for a $30 tournament package fee.
Robert Augsdorfer - Daily American Republic