ALLEN, Texas – Senior Andrea Carter led a balanced attack and also set a prestigious school record for Midwestern State in the opening game of the LSC Championships Wednesday at the Allen Event Center as the Mustangs rolled past a gritty Eastern New Mexico squad, 70-49.

Carter's 19 points and 17 paced MSU, which had four scorers in double figures. Her 17 boards helped her become MSU's all-time leading rebounder, surpassing Alice Edwards (1,014 from 1981-84). Carter, who now has 1,020 boards, recorded her 10th double-double of the season for the two-time All-LSC first-team standout.

The Mustangs got 13 points each from Shambreka Jones and Shatoia Gober, while Dianna Jones added 11.  Gober also added seven rebounds and seven assists and a team-high three steals.

The Zias had two players earn second-team All-LSC honors this week and both did their best to keep ENMU close for a while. Sarah Stinnett had a game-high 23 points and five steals while Jasmine Johnson came off the bench to add 14 points and nine rebounds.

MSU opened the game on a 7-0 run and led by as much as 17-4 in the first few minutes. But the Zias fought back to close the gap to six at one point and trailed at the half, 31-23. MSU kept its distance mainly because of Carter, who hit four mid-range jumpers when ENMU was trying to rally back.

In the second half, the Mustangs got hot from beyond the arc, hitting 5-of-10 3-pointers, including back-to-back triples by Dianna Jones pushed the lead out to 16 and the Mustangs never looked back.

More than just Carter, the Mustangs dominated the boards all around with a 59-34 edge.

Midwestern completed a three-game sweep of ENMU after recording wins of 72-46 and 94-46 in the regular season.

MSU (22-5) will advance to Friday's semifinal round to play the winner of Cameron-Texas A&M-Commerce. The season ends for the Zias at 9-18.
 
Midwestern State Notes
·         Midwestern State never trailed in the game and improved to 22-5 on the season and to 12-5 all-time in LSC tournament play
·         The Mustangs are now 7-1 in LSC quarterfinal games with their 70-49 win on Wednesday
·         Andrea Carter recorded a double-double with 19 points and 17 rebounds… Carter was named to the LSC first-team on Tuesday for the third straight season. With her 17 rebounds she now has 1,020 in her career which is a new MSU record
·         MSU had four players score in double digits with Shaoia Gober and Shambreka Jones at 13 points and Dianna Jones at 11 points
·         The Mustangs led by as many as 29 points after shooting 29-for-70 (41.4 percent) and owning a 59-34 rebounding advantage
·         It took the Mustangs just 13 seconds to open scoring with Shambreka Jones hitting a jumper for the first points of the game
·         The Mustangs took a 21-point lead with 8:32 remaining in the game on a jumper by Shatoia Gober
MSU started the game on a 7-0 run
·         Took a 15-4 lead on a Taylor Dowd layup with 13 minutes to play in the first half for its first double-digit lead of the game
·         Led by double-digits until a Sarah Stinnett jumper with 3:46 remaining cut the advantage to 25-16 and single digits for the first time in 12 minutes
·         Carter led the Mustangs with 11 points and six rebounds in the first half
·         The Mustangs led 31-23 at halftime after shooting 15-for-36 (41.7 percent), but went 0-for-5 from beyond the arc
·         MSU owned a 24-19 rebounding advantage in the first 20 minutes
·         Midwestern State is now 26-17 all-time against Eastern New Mexico and has won the last seven matchups… MSU went 3-0 against Eastern New Mexico this season

Eastern New Mexico Notes
·         Eastern New Mexico University was the No. 7 seed in the 2015 Lone Star Conference Tournament
·         The Zias scored their first points of the game form the free throw line at the 17:32 mark of the first.
·         ENMU concludes the 2014-15 season 9-17 overall.
·         Midwestern State took all three games from ENMU.
·         With the loss, the Zias are now 8-18 all-time in LSC tournament play.
·         Tori Tucker and Sarah Stinnett earned All-LSC Second Team honors in last night's banquet.
·         Eastern trailed by as much as 15, but the Zias cut it to six with less than a minute remaining in the first half.
·         At halftime, the Zias trailed 31-23. Jasmine Johnson came off the bench for team-highs in points (eight) and rebounds (six).
·         Johnson became the first Zias player to reach double figures and scored 10-plus points for the seventh time this season, finishing with 14 points and eight rebounds.
·         Stinnett tallied a team best 21 points and added five rebounds, five steals and four assists.