Hailey earns defensvie honor from LSC

Flash Staff Report
TheFlashToday.com

STEPHENVILLE (January 23, 2018) — Tarleton State is on a tear and Mackenzie Hailey is a big reason why.

Misty Wilson said on Tuesday that defense – switching from man primarily to zone – was the biggest transformation in her team losing five of its first nine games before winning eight of its next nine. And who better to lead the way than Hailey, the Lone Star Conference Player of the Year.

Hailey had 13 rebounds, 5 steals and two blocked shots in a pair of road wins by the TexAnns, who ended then-No. 8 West Texas A&M’s 16-game home winning streak last Thursday and beat UT-Permian Basin on Saturday. She led the 2-3 zone defense Tarleton employs into yielding a combined 54.5 points and just 37 percent shooting.

The sophomore from Burleson, who transferred to Tarleton prior to last season from UT-Arlington and was the MVP of the LSC tournament won by the TexAnns had to also be a candidate for the offensive award. She averaged 16.5 points for the week, inlcuding 19 points nad the gamet-tying basket in the final minute of the stunner at WTAMU. She corralled an offensive rebound and scored the pput back to make it 64-64, and teammate McKinley Bostad made two free throws with 12 seconds left after being fouled while rebounding a missed shot at the other end. The TexAnns added another stop on WT’s final possession before celebrating the wild win.

Hailey averaged 14 points at UT-Permian Basin on Saturday, where the TexAnns needed a strong defensive effort because of 25 turnovers offensively. They got it and won 58-45.

It’s the second weekly defensive honor this season for Hailey, who’s impressive season stats are shown below. She earned one weekly honor for offense last season.

Tarleton is home for a pair of conference games this week at Wisdom Gym. The TexAnns host Cameron at 5:30 p.m. Thursday and Midwestern State at 2 p.m. Saturday.