Wallace State’s women’s basketball team eliminated by No. 3 Trinity Valley at NJCAA Division I national tournament

HANCEVILLE, ALA. – Wallace State’s women’s basketball team couldn’t pull the upset Wednesday, falling to third-seeded Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College 64-49 in the second round of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I tournament in Salina, Kansas.
Trinity Valley (30-3) outscored Wallace State 19-10 over the final 12 minutes of the first half, utilizing the run to grab a 32-23 halftime lead and keep Wallace State at bay the rest of the way.
Wallace State closes the season at 28-6 after making its first national tournament appearance since 2011 and fifth overall. The Lady Lions, seeded 19^th, made program history on Tuesday by winning their first opening-round game in Kansas, an 87-59 triumph over No. 11 Eastern Arizona. It was also coach Ron Burdette’s 100^th career victory with Wallace State.
Trinity Valley, the three-time defending national champion, didn’t let Wallace State add to its March magic. Wallace State shot only 30 percent from the field (8 of 27) and 30 percent from behind the 3-point line (10 of 33).
Sophomore forward BreAnna Thompson finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for Wallace State, collecting her 10^th double-double of the season.
Haven Albright scored nine points for the Lady Lions, while Tyra Caudle added seven off the bench.
For Trinity Valley, Jasmine Spears led the way with 13 points, Leashja Grant had 12 points and 22 rebounds and Kami Mickens scored 11 points.
The teams traded leads four times over the opening three minutes of the game. Charisma Matlock gave Trinity Valley a 13-9 advantage with 14:30 to go before the half, but Wallace State chipped away and tied things at 13-all on a Thompson bucket.
Trinity Valley reclaimed a 15-13 edge with 11:27 remaining and extended its lead to 19-13 with 7:55 left.
Jada Dale hit a three from the right wing for Wallace State with 6:52 to go before half, trimming the Trinity Valley lead to 19-16.
The Lady Cardinals responded with their most decisive run of the day, using a 12-0 spurt to maintain a 31-16 cushion with 2:53 left before halftime.
Wallace State didn’t get within single digits the remainder of the game.
Wednesday marked the final Wallace State game for all five starters: Thompson, Albright, Morgan Smith, Kaneisha Mixon and Morgan Hardy.
The sophomores won 55 games over a two-year span, earning an Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) North Division championship as freshmen and a national tournament bid this season.
Smith was named the 2015 ACCC Player of the Year and an ACCC All-Tournament selection after leading the Lady Lions with 16.5 points per game. She was also first on the team in steals and assists and added 5.6 rebounds per game.
Albright was a 2^nd-team All-ACCC North selection after averaging 14.1 points per game.
Thompson and Mixon were All-Tournament team selections.
For more information about Wallace State athletics, visit wallacestate.edu. 
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Russell Moore
Staff Writer
Wallace State Community College
P.O. Box 2000, Hanceville, AL 35077
1-866-350-9722    256-352-8443 direct
Visit us online at www.wallacestate.edu