LEVELLAND – The South Plains College Lady Texans and NJCAA seventh-ranked Texans will travel to Clarendon Thursday afternoon for a women's/men's doubleheader set to begin at 5:45 p.m. with the men following at 7:45 p.m.
The Texans (22-3, 9-2 WJCAC) are winners of their last two games versus Howard and New Mexico, which completed a four-game stretch against teams vying for a spot in next month's regional tournament.
Though Clarendon is likely out of contention to make the postseason, Texan head coachSteve Green knows his team needs to be ready to play.
"Clarendon is a tough place, I always leave there with a severe headache," Green recently told KLVT Radio's Michael Wiiest. "You can't correctly describe it to people, or particular, your players if they have not been there."
Last year's Texan team experienced a tough time at Clarendon's 'Dawg House,' sneaking by with a one-point victory in double-overtime in front of a raucous crowd.
In his 14th-year coaching the Texans and 20th season as an NJCAA head coach, Green will be going for his 500th career coaching victory against the Bulldogs.
The Lady Texans (13-10, 7-3) had a four-game winning streak snapped as they fell to New Mexico 58-55 in their most recent contest Monday night at the Texan Dome.
Ninth-year Lady Texan head coach Michelle Wyatt said the key to her team's success against Clarendon is not getting caught up in the type of game the Lady Dawgs like to play.
"We need to dictate the pace of the game and I think we've proven that when we do that, we can be a pretty good team," Wyatt said. "If we get in their kind of matchup and start trying to match them 3s, it's not going to work out very well."
Live video of both games will be streamed live over the Internet. Links for the games can be found at www.spctexans.com. Fans can also listen over the air on 1230 AM KLVT Radio and online at www.klvtradio.com. Michael Wiiest will be on the call.
Game Information: Lady Texans (13-10, 7-3) vs Clarendon (10-13, 2-8)
(7) Texans (22-3, 9-2) vs Clarendon (7-17, 2-9)
Location: Clarendon, Texas (Dawg House)
Tip Off: 5:45 pm. (women)/7:45 p.m. (men)
Radio: 1230 AM KLVT
Video: www.spctexans.com
Play by Play Michael Wiiest, KLVT Radio
What's on the line: The Texans currently control their own destiny and hold a one-half game lead over Odessa in the conference standings and three more teams between one and 21/2 games within the lead.
The Lady Texans loss to New Mexico put them two games off the pace for the league lead behind the Lady T-Birds and Odessa. The SPC women hold a one game lead over Midland for third place in the standings and are three games ahead of Frank Phillips with only four games remaining. A victory over Clarendon would put the Lady Texans one victory away from clinching a postseason berth.
Who to watch: Texans:
Andre Spight (16.4 ppg/16.9 in WJCAC)
Ryan Martin (13.4 ppg/6.6 rpg in WJCAC)
Billydee Williams (11.7 ppg in WJCAC)
Rod Lawrence (11.5 ppg in WJCAC)
Lady Texans
Jasmine Brainard (19.8 ppg/6.6 rpg in WJCAC)
TaSheena Moore (13.8 ppg/8.2 rpg in WJCAC)
Alexius Dawn (13 ppg/4.2 apg in WJCAC)