Feb. 28, 2004
Edinburg, Texas - It all came down to a matter of
time. Texas-Pan American (13-14) had the lead in the second half for only 3.1
seconds but it was when they had it that mattered. A free-throw by Mary DeCock (Sr./Lamberton, Minn./Northeast CC) hit a free throw with 3.1 seconds
left to give the Lady Broncs a 54-53 win over Southeastern Louisiana (12-13).
The win set the school record for victories breaking the old mark of 12 set back
in 1984-85.
The first half was a big battle. The Lady
Lions led almost the entire half. Two free throws from Kristi Dudley
(Fr./Cedar Hill, Texas/Cedar Hill HS) gave the Lady Broncs their first lead at
13-12 with 9:44 to go. The lead lasted until Tish Guy hit a triple with
8:30 left to make it 16-13. SEL went in at half with a 28-23 lead despite not
grabbing a single offensive rebound.
The second half was one of little mini
runs. Both team battled up and down the floor. A jumper by Jennifer Piwonka
(Jr./Louise, Texas/Louise HS) made it 41-41 with 9:56 to go. Southeastern
Louisiana then scored 10 straight points over the next three minutes to take a
51-41 lead with 6:26 to go. The Lady Broncs were not done as they finished the
game on a 13-2 run. Dawnne Cheadle (Jr./Roswell, N.M./Seminole State) hit
a lay-up with 1:23 left to tie the game at 53-53.
With 3.1 seconds left, Michelle Gainey
missed a shot and was called for a foul on the rebound. Decock hit the
first free throw to make it 54-53. She missed the second one and Nakeya
Downing grabbed the ball and threw it to mid court. Piwonka picked it
off to preserve the win.
For UTPA, Cheadle had 12 points and
three steals, Molly Schamel (Jr./Hector, N.Y./Yavapai College) had 12
points and blocked three shots and Amanda Carlow (Sr./Pine Ridge,
S.D./Northeast CC) had 11 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and seven
steals. Carlow now has 100 assists for the season becoming the sixth Lady
Broncs to reach that mark.
For Southeastern Louisiana, Downing
had 15 points and nine rebounds and LaSha Stover had 11 points.
" I'm just so proud of our effort
tonight." Said head coach DeAnn Craft. "We were down 10 with 6 minutes to
go and we found a way to win. The winning free throw was a result of executing.
We boxed out on that missed shot and the SEL girl fouled trying to get the ball.
I thought this was Dawnne's best game and Amanda, our point guard,
leads us with eight rebounds. It's all about getting people to step up and get
the job done. Northern Arizona is very athletic and shoots the ball very well.
They have some big wins against good schools. We are just going to be very
aggressive with them and pressure the ball."
Texas-Pan American closes out the 2003-04
season vs. Northern Arizona on March 3. The game is scheduled to start at 8:00
p.m.
