Lady Greyhounds Win Region Championship

Aryah Hazley scored a career-high 34 points to lead the Lady Greyhounds past the SAU Tech Lady Rockets 68-62 Monday night in the NJCAA Region 2 Tournament Championship Game at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas.

SAU Tech entered the game with a 20-2 overall record and a perfect 10-0 mark in Region 2 play while finishing the season ranked #13 in the final NJCAA National Rankings. ASU Mid-South had fallen to the Lady Rockets twice in region play, 52-43 at home on January 19, and 52-51 at SAU Tech on February 9, before Monday's victory.

The teams battled even in the first quarter at 16-16 before the Lady Greyhounds took control in the second period to lead 31-25 at the half. Hazley scored 8 points in the second while Kayla Griffin chipped in 4 points.

The Lady Rockets mounted a comeback in the third quarter to close the gap to 43-41 before the real fireworks went off in the final frame. SAU Tech had battled back to take a 44-43 lead on a Diamond McKnight pullup jumper with 9:35 left to play when ASU Mid-South Head Coach Addie Lees took a timeout. What followed was a 17-6 run capped by a Hazley layup in transition that gave the Lady Greyhounds a 60-50 lead with 2:25 remaining in the game. But even after the Lady Rockets cut the lead to 5 points, Hazley took over and scored ASU Mid-South's final 8 points of the game including two free throws with 9.2 seconds left to seal the win.

The Lady Greyhounds held SAU Tech to just 33.9% shooting from the field and 18.2% from the three-point line while hitting 38.2% from the field themselves. ASU Mid-South also won the rebounding battle, 45-36, including 20 offensive boards, and forced 18 turnovers.

In addition to 34 points, Aryah Hazley pulled down 9 rebounds, only behind Jazzmen Robinson's game-high 10 boards to go with 4 points. Kya Washington scored 12 points and Quintasia Leatherwood finished with 10 points, 4 rebounds, and a game-high 7 assists.

As the NJCAA Region 2 Champions, ASU Mid-South (19-10) now advances to the Central Plains District Championship game to take on North Central Missouri College Lady Pirates (22-6) who advance from Region 16 unopposed as the only other team in their region, St. Louis Community College, cancelled their season due to a lack of eligible players. The game will be played at The Dog House on the campus of ASU Mid-South on Saturday, March 11, at 2:00pm.