LUBBOCK, TEX. – Wabash Valley put up perhaps the biggest numbers of the first day of the NJCAA women's national basketball tournament.
And they were all on defense.
The Warriors held Independence, Kan. to a paltry shooting percentage of 16.7% for the game in a one-sided 59-29 victory on Monday at the Rip Griffin Center.
"It was a great defensive effort. Our kids were locked in for 40 minutes," said WVC coach Luke Scheidecker. "They did a great job flying around. (Independence) got nothing easy tonight."
WVC (21-3), seeded 10th in the 24-team tournament, will return to the court on Tuesday at 8 p.m. for a Round of 16 matchup against No. 7 seed Shelton State, Ala. (20-4), one of eight teams to receive a first-round bye in the tourney.
Independence, in the field for the first time since 1996, bowed out at 20-7.
It took a couple of minutes for WVC to find its' rhythm and settle down. For the Pirates, however, things went from bad to worse.
"We had a couple of early run-out baskets, and that got our nerves settled," Scheidecker said. "We had a good lead early and it went from there."
The Warriors led 17-5 at the end of the first quarter, expanding the margin to 19 points by intermission, 33-14.
Indy hit only 3-of-20 first half field goal attempts and improved only slightly over the final two periods on 5-of-28 accuracy for a final total of 8-of-48.
The Pirates could not find relief from beyond the arc line either, hitting only two 3-point field goals on the night.
Wabash Valley was able to dominate the boards as well. The Warriors won the rebounding battle, 50-38, against an Indy team that was 22nd best in that category.
Said Scheidecker: "We did a good job keeping them off (the boards) and eliminating second chance scoring opportunities."
WVC was led in scoring by Jazmyn Turner, who finished with 13 points. Je'Naiya Davis and Cierra Christian added 12 points each for the winners. Christian also had 11 rebounds for the game's only double-double.
Maisa Marcal paced Independence with a game-high 15 points. However, Rapulchi Ngorka, the Pirates leading scorer and owner of 10 of her club's 12 double-doubles, was held scoreless.
There were two tournament records set in the game. Indy's total of 29 points was the fewest in a game, breaking the previous mark of 31 set by Southwest Mississippi in 2014. The combined point total in this game (88) also broke a record, set in 2014 of 90 points by Butler (51) and Shelton State (39).
Here are the final scores from Monday's opening day of the tournament:
Western Nebraska 79, Iowa Western 70
Three Rivers 76, Eastern Oklahoma State 74
Miles 76, Gulf Coast State 72
Wabash Valley 59, Independence 29
Georgia Highlands 65, Southern Idaho 62
Otero 74, Butler County 67
Tuesday's Schedule
Moberly Area vs. Eastern Arizona, 10:00 a.m.
Tyler vs. Walters State, 12:00 p.m.
Jones vs. western Nebraska, 2:00 p.m.
Casper vs. Three Rivers, 4:00 p.m.
Trinity Valley vs. Miles, 6:00 p.m.
Wabash Valley vs. Shelton State, 8:00 p.m.