March 10, 2006
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - West Florida's all-time leader in career steals, Michelle Gibson, had two in this evening's NCAA quarterfinal win over Fort Valley State, 65-64. They were clearly the most significant pair of steals in Gibson's three-years at West Florida.
The game was tied at 61-61 with 53 second left to play and the Lady Wildcats had the ball. Gibson stepped in front of a hand-off and took it coast-to-coast for a lay-up giving UWF the lead for good. Shekiya Tarpkins missed a jumper with 15 seconds remaining and Melissa Nafzger grabbed one of her eight second half rebounds off the miss. West Florida's Heather George was fouled and went to line for one-and-one where she calmly cemented the win by knocking down both attempts. Tarpkins hit a three-pointer at the buzzer, but it was too little too late.
Fort Valley State's Shanika Carter hit a jumper to put the Lady Wildcats ahead, 59-53, with 3:29 left to play. West Florida's Lyndsay Munro scored on an inbound pass, but Carter answered with a bucket of her own. Nafzger hit another dramatic, late three to cut FVSU's lead to 61-58 with 2:21 left to play. Gibson's first steal came on an inbound pass at midcourt from the sideline. Gibson was fouled and made one-of-two from the line.
The Argos trailed 32-28 at halftime. They captured their first lead of the game at the 18:58 mark of the second half, as UWF went on a 7-0 run. However, UWF's lead never exceded four points, despite having the lead for the majority of the second half. The Lady Wildcats broke a 53-53 tie by scoring six unanswered points late in the second half, before UWF went on their final game winning run.
Foul trouble was a problem for UWF for most of the game. Nafzger played just five minutes in the first half after picking up two quick fouls. Erin Vierling, Gibson and George played most of the first half with two fouls. Nafzger finished the game with four fouls.
West Florida is the six seed, while FVSU was the number three seed. Gibson led all scorers with 26 points on 10-for-18 shooting and six rebounds. Nafzger scored all 10 of her points in the second half. She added nine boards. George contributed with 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists. The Lady Wildcats were led by Shari Griggs who scored 13 points with 10 boards off the bench. She was 6-for-7 from the field. Tarpkins scored 14 points with six boards and four steals. Carter added 12 points. Fort Valley State had a 26-10 advantage in bench scoring.
West Florida improves to 23-6 overall. Fort Valley State's season ends at 28-3. The Argonauts play the winner of the Henderson State/Paine College quarterfinal on Saturday at 7:30 pm. Listen to the live audio on Stretch Internet at goargos.com.
