By Trey McLaughlin
LETU Sports Information Assistant
LONGVIEW – Jessica Manas grabbed a steal and took it the length of the court for the easy layup with just two seconds to play, sealing LeTourneau's 58-53 win over East Texas Baptist in Saturday's Piney Woods Classic game.
Manas (Fort Worth, Texas/Haltom) came off LeTourneau's bench to score 17 points, including the last four of the game, to lead the YellowJackets (10-7, 7-7 ASC East).
La'Queda Davis (Houston, Texas/Waltrip) added 10 points for the Jackets, while teammate Sharday Cotton (Mansfield, La./LSU-Shreveport) added eight points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Amanda Rucker and Paigen Gilford scored 17 points and 10 points, respectively for the East Texas Baptist (5-12, 3-9 ASC East). Holly Phelps secured a game-high 16 rebounds and added eight points for the Tigers.
LeTourneau has won six of its last eight games to get back into the playoff picture in the American Southwest Conference's East Division. With a conference record of 6-7, the Jackets passed Ozarks (Ark.) on Saturday and are currently tied for fourth place with Texas-Tyler.
When asked about what has been the key to the turnaround for his team, Coach Thomaston said, "We really challenged our kids to play at a higher level of intensity."
The intensity was on display right from the opening tipoff. The Jackets jumped out to a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the game and led for the duration of the first half, taking a 29-20 lead into the midgame break.
The Jackets defense harassed the Tigers in the first half, holding them to just 17 percent shooting (4 of 24) from the field.
LeTourneau had to fend off a second-half surge from the Tigers, who took the lead for the first time midway through the second half. However, the Jackets would claim the lead for good with a five-point run between the 9:27 and 6:54 marks to take a 45-40 lead.
ETBU managed to cut into LeTourneau's six-point lead in the final three minutes of the game, reducing the Jackets lead to 54-53 with 22 seconds left. The Tigers fouled Manas on the next possession, who sank two free throws, and then capped the game with her steal and layup in the final seconds.
The Jackets held ETBU to 53 points, nearly nine points fewer than their season average. The Jackets have now held opponents under their season scoring average seven out of the last 10 games.
Corey Thomaston says his defense has played a huge role in the team's recent success, saying, "It's freed up our offense a little bit to be able to get out and run in transition a little bit more and be able to get easier baskets for our team."
The easy baskets were on display Saturday as the Jackets turned ETBU's 24 turnovers into 19 points.
The Jackets will aim for their seventh consecutive home win when they host Mississippi College. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.