Jan. 27, 2004

EDINBURG, TX -It took nearly 33 minutes and a record-breaking performance for The University of Texas-Pan-American's women's basketball team to overcome stubborn Incarnate Word Tuesday evening.

The Lady Broncs broke the game open with a 16-0 run late in the second half, got a school record-breaking nine blocked shots from junior center Molly Schamel (Hector, NY/Watkins Glen HS/Yavapai College), and defeated the Crusaders, 63-46, at the UTPA Fieldhouse.

Texas-Pan American led, 42-41 with 7:41 remaining. Senior guard Amanda Carlow (Pine Ridge, SD/Rapid City CHS/Northeast CC) connected on a three-pointer, Schamel added a jumper, Carlow hit from three again, and Schamel scored once more to give the Lady Broncs a 10-point lead with 3:16 remaining. A layup by junior guard Dawnne Cheadle (Roswell, NM/Roswell HS/Seminole State College) and a trey and two more free throws finished off the run.

UTPA jumped out to a 21-11 lead midway through the first half, but was held to just four points in the final 10 minutes before intermission as the Crusaders cut their advantage to three points at halftime, 25-22. A three-pointer by Carlow early in the second half allowed Texas-Pan American to take a seven-point lead, 35-28, but UIW used a layup and free throw by Heather Wolf to close to within a single point before the Lady Broncs began their decisive run.

Schamel, who blocked four shots in the first half, broke the UTPA record when she blocked a shot by UIW's Terri Twilligear with 1:09 remaining. The previous record of eight was set by Rhonda Carrington against McNeese State on January 6, 1990.

"It feels pretty good to break the record," said Schamel. "I felt like I haven't been playing all that well lately. It's nice to get back on track. I've had better offensive games, but this might be my best all around game."

Schamel finished with a double-double with 11 points and an equal number of rebounds. Carlow led all scorers with a career-high 26 points, and added nine assists. Cheadle added 10 points. Amy Mueller led the Crusaders with 10 points.

"Our shooters stepped up against their zone, and we got the lead, and it forced them to go man," said UTPA Head Coach DeAnn Craft. "When they went man, we were able to choose how we wanted to attack the basket, and we were able to break the game open. We came out with the passion we needed to play with on our home court, and that's important. It helps us further along towards our ultimate goal, which is to break the school record for victories."

The Lady Broncs improved to 8-12 with the victory, which broke a five-game losing streak. UIW dropped to 13-7. Texas-Pan American will return to action when they visit IPFW Saturday afternoon.