ALLEN, Texas – The LSC Championships kicked off Wednesday with a pair of shocking upsets with the No. 2 seeds.

But thanks to a career-high 27 points from Diana Jones, Midwestern State's women's team made sure it was a different story with the No. 1 seed. The top-ranked Mustangs left no doubt against No. 8 Eastern New Mexico, cruising to an 85-70 win over the Zias to advance to the semifinals on Friday. MSU will play the winner of the 4/5 game between Tarleton State and Incarnate Word.

"I'm proud of my team," MSU coach Noel Johnson said. "They came to play today. We've talked about having a killer mentality and we showed that today. That's what we wanted to see."

Along with Jones, who was a perfect 11 of 11 from the free-throw line, MSU had four players in double-figure scoring. Kristi Degelia scored 22, Andrea Carter had 15 and Shatoia Gober notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

"These are just great players," Johnson said. "DJ (Jones) does a great job of pushing in transition and was looking to score tonight. KK (Degelia) is either going to score and draw a foul."

The win was the first postseason victory for the Mustangs since 2002 as they are making just their second appearance in the LSC Championship in the last 11 years. The No. 2 ranked team in the South Central Region, MSU improved to 22-5.

The season ends for Eastern New Mexico with a final record of 7-22.

The Zias had four players in double figures, led by Jordyn Cooper's 19 points. Hanna Altheide and Jasmine Johnson each scored 11 and Nelsha Peterson scored 10. Altheide also had a game-high 11 boards.

Eastern New Mexico turned the ball over 26 times. Carter, Gober and Shambreka Jones had three steals each.

After a slow start by both teams led to a 4-4 tie, the Mustangs went on a 9-0 run, sparked by a basket each by Degelia, Carter, Gober and Jones. From there, MSU controlled the first half and led 40-30 at the half.

"I feel like these kids are flipping the switch during this third season," Johnson said. "It's about us and what we can control. When we can combine athleticism with execution, we can be pretty special."

Midwestern opened the second half with a 13-2 run and extended the lead to as much as 21. The Zias hit a few shots down the stretch, but never got closer than 14.