Southland Women's Hoops Report - January 17

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THIBODAUX, La. - UT Arlington women's basketball won its third straight SLC match-up Thursday, 80-61, over Nicholls State. Junior Candice Champion led the Mavericks (8-6, 3-0 SLC) with a career-high 21 points.

"Our bench really came through for us tonight," said head coach Samantha Morrow. "Candice worked really hard on the offensive side of the ball tonight."

At the 13:43 mark, Champion hit a layup to give UTA the ten-point advantage 14-4. Over the next six minutes, the Mavs built their lead to 14 (28-14) capped with a pair of free throws from senior Tiffeny Riles, who finished the night with a double-double (10 points and 13 rebounds).

Nicholls State used an 8-0 run to cut UTA's lead seven, but back-to-back layups from Champion and sophomore Kristina Grace put the Mavs back ahead 34-23.

The Colonel's Shelley West sank a three with 42 second left in the first half to cut the Maverick's lead to six (39-33) heading into the break.

Nicholls came out in the second half to take a one-point lead 40-39, behind four points from Katherine Plummer. However, UTA answered with a 14-5 to regain an 11-point advantage with 13:01 left to play.

With 3:39 left on the clock freshman Tamara Simmons hit a basket from beyond the arch to put the Mavs ahead 73-53. The Mavs went on to win 80-61.

The Mavs will continue their Louisiana road trip as they take-on Southeastern Louisiana at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Other Soutland Scores:

UT Arlington 80 @ Nicholls State 61

A&M-Corpus Christi 73 @ Northwestern State 65

UTSA 76 @ Central Arkansas 49

Texas State 70 @ Southeastern Louisiana 52

Stephen F. Austin 70 @ Lamar 72

 

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LU women hold on to defeat SFA

By JOHNNIE WALTERS, The Enterprise

01/18/2008

Updated 01/17/2008 11:17:17 PM CST

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Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise

Lamar’s Emily Spickler steps into a shot against SFA during the Lady Cards’ first conference game at home. 

BEAUMONT - The score was tied 11 times. The lead changed hands 10 times.

The Lamar University women's basketball team even lost a 10-point lead in the second half - and the Lady Cardinals still found a way to win.

Lamar fended off a late rally by Stephen F. Austin State University to hold onto a 72-70 victory in a Southland Conference game in the Montagne Center Thursday night.

Once SFA's Ebony Alexander sank a 3-pointer to give the Lumberjacks a 65-64 lead with 2:18 left, the Cardinals went on a 7-5 run to clinch the victory.

Lamar's Nikki Williams' 3-pointer with 1:18 left, along with two free throws in the final seconds clinched the win for the Cardinals.

"I thought we did a lot of good things offensively throughout the game," said Lamar coach Larry Tidwell. "We beat two teams that are considered the top two teams in the conference. Texas-San Antonio and SFA are right there at the top, and we beat them. It feels great to be able to get our second conference win at home."

Lamar improves to 9-6 overall and 2-0 in conference play. Stephen F. Austin fell to 5-10 and 2-1.

Stephen F. Austin, which trailed by 10 points with more than 16 minutes left, made seven 3-pointers in the second half. Alexander had three, and teammate Jessica Gaines was 4-of-7 in the second half.

Gaines led the Lumberjacks with 18 points. Alexander had 14 points, and Nikki Carr had 12. Chantol Drennan had 11.

"We just gave SFA too many open shots," Tidwell said. "They were able to shoot from everywhere on the court. We just have to do a better job on defense. We have to pick up our intensity on defense."

Lamar's Tamara Abalde led the Cardinals with 22 points and 15 rebounds. Williams had 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Brittney Williams had 16 points and Aida Bakhos had 10.

"We have a lot of history with SFA," said Tidwell, whose team lost to the Lumberjacks 73-65 in the first round of the SLC Tournament last year. "If feels good to gain a win against them. It gives us more momentum as we move forward in conference play."