Jan. 11, 2008

Game Notes - Cal State-Bakersfield in PDF Format
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Game Information
▪ - The University of Texas-Pan American women's basketball team will face Cal State-Bakersfield on Saturday (Jan. 12) at the UTPA Fieldhouse with tip-off slated for 7 p.m.

▪ - The Lady Broncs fell to 8-9 on the season after a 67-61 setback over New Jersey Institute of Technology on Wednesday night at the UTPA Fieldhouse.

▪ - This will be the first recorded meeting between both teams in school history. The Lady Broncs and the Roadrunner's are both on a three-game skid.

▪ - UTPA will get a chance to see their opponent before Saturday nights game when Cal State-Bakersfield and NJIT will play each other at the UTPA Fieldhouse tonight at 7 p.m.

▪ - Faithful of the Lady Broncs basketball can find results for the game shortly after its conclusion by visiting www.utpabroncs.com.

Scouting the Opponent - Cal State-Bakersfield (6-9)
▪ - The Roadrunners are coming off a 78-75 setback over West Coast Conference opponent-Santa Clara University on Friday (Jan. 4) in Santa Clara, CA.

▪ - Kelley Tarver led the Roadrunners with 21 points on 7-of-21 shooting and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe while Naomi Johnson collected 19 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

▪ - Four Roadrunners are averaging 10 or more points per game including Tarver who leads the team with 17.2 points per game.

▪ - Cal State-Bakersfield will be making their second trip to Texas in the seven-plus season history of CSUB women's basketball. The first trip came last season, when the `Runners fell at Houston before posting their first regular season NCAA Division I win at UT-San Antonio.

▪ - This weekend's game at UT-Pan American will be the final games in a seven-game road trip-CSUB's longest of the season. The `Runners are 1-4 on the trip entering the week.

▪ - Krista Arase ranks No. 29 in assists (5.2 apg) and No. 41 in steals (2.8 spg). Naomi Johnson checks in at No. 38 in field goal percentage (54.7).

▪ - As a team, CSUB ranks No. 27 in scoring offense (74.7 ppg) and No. 33 in steals (11.5 spg).

Leader of the Lady Broncs ▪ - DeAnn Craft is in her fifth season at the helm of the UTPA women's basketball program with a 45-68 record.

▪ - In her first season as head coach, Craft led the Lady Broncs to their highest win total in program history, with 13. That historic season was followed by a 14-win campaign in 2004-05, breaking the win-record set in 2003-04.

▪ - The Lady Broncs made tremendous strides during the 2006-07 season despite finishing with an 11-18 overall record as UTPA had seven players earn post-season United Basketball League and Independent laurels.

▪ - Craft helped guide the Lady Broncs to some tremendous victories during the past season as the Valley's women's basketball program defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas State, Centenary, McNeese State and New Jersey Insitute of Technology.

▪ - The Lady Broncs finished with a 7-5 record on their home court and have finished with a .500 or higher home winning percentage in each of Craft's first four seasons with the program.

▪ - In the last four seasons, Craft has won more games than the previous coaches in the past six seasons.

Gray and Wilson Rank In Top-Five of NCAA Women's Basketball
▪ - Senior LeKeisha Gray is currently ranked fifth among Division I women's basketball programs in three-point field goals per game with 3.1 percent.

▪ - Gray has hit 47 of her 117 three-point attempts this season. The 5'4 guard recorded a career-high 24 points, inlcuding six three-pointers in a 62-56 victory over Tennessee-Martin on Dec. 3.

▪ - Tiona Wilson ranks second in three-point field goal percentage with 52 percent, banking 34 of her 66 attempts from behind the arc.

▪ - Wilson recorded a career-high 22 points and seven three-pointers in a triumph over Huston-Tillotson on Nov. 17.

Floor General Earns MVP Accolades at Battle at the Border
▪ - LeKeisha Gray earned her second piece of hardware of the season after collecting the MVP trophy at the Third Annual Battle at the Border Tournament hosted by UTPA on Dec. 28-29.

▪ - The Lady Broncs captured the tournament title after battling to a 66-62 victory over St. Louis in the championship game.

▪ - In the two-game series, Gray finished with 25 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists for the Lady Broncs.

Trio of Lady Broncs Earn All-Tournament Team Honors
▪ - LeKeisha Gray was selected to the five-man all-tournament team at the Flint Hills Islander Classic on (Dec. 16)where she collected 22 points and nine rebounds in her efforts in two-games.

▪ - Rose Esther Jean has finished with 35 points and 13 rebounds at the Flint Hills Islander Classic on (Dec. 16) en route to earning all-tournament team honors in the two-day tournament.

▪ - Sohpomore Aleeya Grigsby collected her first piece of hardware of the season as she was selected to the five-player all-tournament team as she finished with a combined 21 points and 13 rebounds at the Florida Gulf Coast Classic on Dec. 30.

Gray Earns Independent Player of the Week Honors
▪ - Senior point guard, LeKeisha Gray was named the Division I Independent Player of the Week on December 18, 2007.

▪ - Gray averaged 15.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game for the Lady Broncs, who won two out of three games last week.

▪ - Gray finished with a team-high 19 points, four rebounds, six assists and one steal in 38 minutes of action in a 59-55 victory over Troy in the first game of the Flint Hill Resource Islander Invitational, on her way to earning all-tournament team honors.

▪ - This is the third time in Gray's Lady Broncs career that she has been honored with Independent Player of the Week accolades.

Last Game - Inside New Jersey Institute of Technology
▪ - The University of Texas-Pan American women's basketball team dropped a 67-61 decision against New Jersey Institute of Technology at the UTPA Fieldhouse on Wednesday (Jan. 9).

▪ - The setback puts the Lady Broncs at 8-9 on the season while the Highlanders improved to 3-10.

▪ - The Highlanders quickly went to work on the Lady Broncs, jumping out to an 11-2 lead with 15:02 left to play in the first half. UTPA made its way back into the game and took a 15-13 advantage following a three-pointer by Tamara Vaughn at the 8:44 mark.

▪ - The Lady Broncs broke into a double-digit lead when Maria Ben Erlingsdottir connected on a jumper to make the score 32-22 but a three-pointer by Katie Piekielski with four seconds left in the first half cut the deficit to seven heading into the locker rooms.

▪ - Despite shooting 54.5 percent in the second half, the Lady Broncs were unable to stop the Highlanders offensively as they went on a 11-0 run to take a 35-32 lead with 17:05 on the clock.

▪ - The Highlanders dominated the boards as they out-rebounded the Lady Broncs 38-26 which included 19 offensive boards compared to five for UTPA.

▪ - The Lady Broncs were able to come from behind to tie the game at 48-48 following a jumper by La'Shae Woodard with 7:11 left on the clock but the Highlanders never gave UTPA room to breathe as they were able to secure their first road victory and third win of the season.

▪ - As a team, the Lady Broncs shot 54.5 percent on (24-of-44) from the field while the Highlanders shot 40 percent connecting on (24-of-60) of their attempts.

▪ - Erlingsdottir finished with a career-high 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, 2-of-3 from the charity stripe while Rose Esther Jean and Woodard each chipped in with eight points.

▪ - Taiwo Oyelola collected a game-high 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting, 1-of-5 from three-point range, and 5-of-5 from the free throw line while adding six rebounds and five steals in 28 minutes of action.

UTPA Sports Information