Jan. 7, 2004

SACRAMENTO, CA-Junior center Molly Schamel's (Hector, NY/Watkins Glen HS/Yavapai College) layup with 33 seconds remaining in overtime gave The University of Texas-Pan American's women's basketball team the lead for good, and the Lady Broncs held on for a 49-47 victory over Sacramento State at the Hornets Nest Wednesday evening.

Schamel's layup erased Sac State's final lead of the game and put Texas-Pan American ahead, 48-47. Samania Black and Kristine Knowlton of CSUS then missed shots before Schamel grabbed a defensive rebound as senior forward Mary DeCock (Lamberton, MN/Red Rock Central HS/Northeast CC) was fouled with 4.7 seconds remaining. DeCock made one of two free throws, and Black's jumper from half court hit the back of the rim and bounced away as time expired.

"(Junior guard) Amanda (Carlow, Pine Ridge, SD/Rapid City Central HS/Northeast CC) hit Molly perfectly, and Molly laid it in, and we went down and played tremendous defense," said UTPA Head Coach DeAnn Craft. "Molly secured the defensive rebound. Amanda played a fabulous floor game, and we played good defense."

Texas-Pan American used a large rebounding advantage to cruise to a seven point halftime lead. The Lady Broncs outrebounded the Hornets in the first half, 28-17, and led at intermission, 22-15. Sac State scored the first four points of the game, but the Lady Broncs responded with a 13-2 run to take the lead for good midway through the first half.

The Hornets cut UTPA's lead to six, but a three-pointer by senior forward Mary DeCock (Lamberton, MN/Red Rock Central HS/Northeast CC) and a trey and a jump shot by junior guard Ashley Roberts (Hernando, MS/Hernando HS/Butler County CC) allowed Texas-Pan American to extend its lead to seven points as the first half came to a close.

Sac State came back in the second half, rallying to tie the game at 38 on a pair of free throws by Sarah Craig with 1:32 remaining. Roberts drilled a three-pointer to give the Lady Broncs a 41-38 advantage 12 seconds later, but Craig's three-pointer with 1:02 to play tied the score, and neither team scored again before regulation time ended.

Roberts led all scorers with 18 points, while Schamel and DeCock added eight points apiece. Schamel grabbed 12 rebounds, and Carlow added six assists.

Craig led the Hornets with 11 points, while Knowlton added eight. Black grabbed nine rebounds as CSUS came back to outrebound UTPA, 49-47. The Lady Broncs made just 16 of 68 shots from the field for 23.5 per cent, while the Hornets made only 17 of 52 for 32.7 per cent.

"Our defensive intensity was outstanding, and that's the main reason why we won," said Craft. "I don't think I've ever had a team shoot 23 per cent from the field and win, but we were very pleased with our hustle and our overall effort. I thought the momentum swung back to Sac State in the final eight minutes of the game, but the fact that we were able to make as many plays as we did speaks well for how hard we played. This was a character game. Our team showed an awful lot of heart, and we made enough plays at key moments to be able to preserve the win."

The Lady Broncs improved to 7-7 with the victory, while CSUS fell to 0-13. Texas-Pan American will continue their four-game, eight-day road trip when they visit San Diego State Friday night.