Nov. 29, 2003
EDINBURG, TX-The University of Texas-Pan American's women's
basketball team continued their torrid start in the first game of Saturday
evening's doubleheader. The Lady Broncs pulled away in the second half to defeat
St. Edward's, 79-42, at the UTPA Fieldhouse. The Lady Broncs move to 4-0 on the
season, the best start in school history.
Texas-Pan American jumped out to a 14-4 lead, but the
Hilltoppers came back. Jennifer Knight's three-pointer cut the Lady Broncs'
advantage to 22-17 with 7:05 to play before three-pointers by senior guard
Amanda Carlow (Pine Ridge, SD/Rapid City CHS/ Northeast CC) and junior guard
Jennifer Piwonka (Louise, TX/Louise HS) ignited a 12-2 run that gave UTPA a
34-19 halftime advantage.
The Lady Broncs made 50 per cent of their shots from the
field in the second half, outscoring St. Edward's, 45-23, and allowing the
Hilltoppers to get no closer than 14 points in the second half.
Kristi Dudley (Fr. /Cedar Hill, Texas/Cedar Hill HS) led the Lady Broncs with 15
points and eight rebounds. Piwonka and Carlow each had 12 points. Piwonka added
five assists and hit three treys, while Carlow added two three-pointers. Junior
guard Ashley Roberts (Hernando, MS/Hernando HS/Butler County CC) had seven
steals, two short of the UTPA single-game record. Texas-Pan American used 15
players, and all but one scored.
The Lady Broncs outrebounded St. Edward's, 44-34. Knight led
the Hilltoppers with 17 points, while Ada Powers grabbed eight rebounds.
"I liked the fact that we did a better job of taking care of
the basketball," said UTPA Head Coach DeAnn Craft. "We're to develop
consistency, and we were able to use our press and force turnovers. St. Edward's
is a very disciplined team, and we didn't do that good a job of containing their
three-point shooters. We did a much better job on the boards in the second half
than we did in the first half. I thought we had an outstanding defensive effort,
and Ashley really led us there."
St. Edward's fell to 0-5 with the defeat. The Lady Broncs
will put their undefeated record on the line when they play Saint Louis next
Friday in the first game of Kansas State's Wildcat Classic.
