Two undefeated teams, with one of them ranked fourth in the nation.
Angelina College’s Lady Roadrunners (10-0) will close out the semester in style by hosting No. 4 Trinity Valley College (9-0) in a Wednesday night showdown at Shands Gymnasium.
AC head coach Byron Coleman, who has had his share of success against the perennial powerhouse Lady Cardinals, said he expects the game to surpass expectations, especially given his team’s overall skill set.
“They’re Trinity Valley, and they’ve always got a great team. (Head coach) Gerald Ewing does a fantastic job,” Coleman said. “They have great players, All-American type players, but we’ve got an All-American on our side with Natasha Mack. Both teams have those impact players, but it’s going to be the so-called ‘non-impact’ players who are going to decide this game. The role players will need to step up, and the team that has the most success with those players off the bench will be the most successful.”
Mack just missed out on a rare triple-double in Saturday’s conference win over Kilgore College, finishing with 29 points, 11 rebounds and eight blocked shots. Teammate and fellow post sidekick Mia Perkins also added a double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds – with nine of those on the offensive end, leading to 19 second-chance points in AC’s 76-55 win.
“That was a fabulous game from Mia Perkins,” Coleman said. “She’s struggle a little with her touch, and she needed a big game. Sometimes you think of a big game as offensively, but she had a big game on the defensive end and on the glass. That was a tremendous bounce-back game for Mia.”
Statistically, the teams are evenly matched: AC scores an average of 81. 7 points per game while allowing just 61. 2 points. TVCC’s offense generates 84.2 ppg while holding opponents to 50.4 points. The Lady ‘Runners’ edge could come in an unselfish manner: AC averages nearly 11 assists per game to the Lady Cards’ six. Mack, AC’s leading scorer, accounts for at least two of those dishes each contest.
Additionally, the Lady Roadrunners have a solid perimeter game. Britney Thompson leads the conference in three-point percentage, hitting 55.2 percent of her long-distance attempts. Mia Williams is fourth in the league at 42.9 percent. The Lady Cards’ Curtessia Dean (42.9 percent) and Tra’Dayja Smith (40.7 percent), third and fifth in the league, respectively.
Throughout the game, Angelina College will honor Lufkin Coca Cola for its more than 40 years of community service.
Game time on Wednesday is 6 p.m. Fans can watch the action via live stream by visiting angelinaathletics.com.
The e-mail address for AC’s Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.
