Feb. 26, 2005
The University of Texas - Pan American women's basketball team posted their 13th victory of the season to tie the school record for most wins in a season with a 57-50 win over IPFW on the road. The Lady Broncs recorded 13 wins on the season just a year ago and are now preparing to surpass the mark before the season comes to a close.
The Lady Broncs went to work early going on an eight-point run to take the quick 10-2 lead with 14:54 remaining in the first half. IPFW would then make a small run at UTPA and cut the lead to six before senior Molly Schamel (Hector, NY/Yavapai College)would work the paint scoring a lay-up inside at the 8:20 mark. Here efforts woudl spark a six-point run that would give the team their largest lead of the game at 22-12 with 5:24 to go before intermission.
The Mastodons would convert at the free throw line and open up Courtney Nicley behind the arc to cut the lead to five points as the half was coming to a close. In their final possession of the half, Dottie Knerr (Winter Park, FL/Winter Park H.S.) would hit a jumper to take them into the locker room with the seven point lead 25-18.
That seven point cushion would be much needed as the two squads played dead even in the second half, both netting 32 points in the second 20 minutes. The `Dons would quickly cut the lead to one point, 25-24, with another hit from Nicley with 17:02 on the clock. The Lady Broncs would then connect on the inside as Kathy Guin (Guthrie, OK/Guthrie H.S.) dished to teammate Dawnne Cheadle (Roswell, NM/Seminole State C.C.) to take the lead back to six, 30-24, with 16:23 to go.
"We really shared the ball well in the second half. It was a team effort from each player who stepped on the court. I though everyone who got in there carried out the assignments gave to them," stated head coach DeAnn Craft.
The team finished the contest with 16 assists on the night, four of them coming from freshman Tiona Wilson (Bradenton, FL/Southeast H.S.).
It wasn't until the 14:55 mark in the second half when the `Dons would overtake the lead from the Lady Broncs 33-30 after another Nicley hit from behind the arc. They would then take the momentum to build their largest lead of the night at 39-30 with 12:32 to go. UTPA would spark the quick turnaround after Dominique Montague (Gilbert, AZ/Central Arizona College) connected on a three-pointer of her own to cut the lead to six points.
After a defensive stop, Montague would break free again to connect on another trey followed by a make from Schamel on the inside to come within one point, 39-38, midway through the second half.
"Dominique was huge for us in the second half. Her back-to-back three pointers regained the momentum for us in a game where the teams were really battling to control the flow of the game. I though our team really stayed focused as a whole and it was a complete team effort," Craft said.
A lay-up from Tynesha Pierce (Houston, TX/Westfield H.S.) would recover the lead for UTPA with 7:11 to go. They were then able to hold the lead as Pierce would net six of her game-high 14 points in those last seven minutes of play.
In an effort to stop the clock, IPFW would foul Wilson who would convert on two at the charity stripe to seal the 57-50 victory.
"The keys for us today were containing their shooters and limiting their offensive rebounds which we did well in the second half. We played very good team ball and took good shots to get our shooting percentage up from where it has been," Craft concluded.
The Lady Broncs will look for their 14 win in an effort to break the wins record from last season, as they head to the Independent Tournament starting Thursday (Mar. 3-5) hosted by Utah Valley State in Orem, UT.
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