Feb. 9, 2005
Box Score
The University of Texas - Pan American women's basketball team battled its way to a 53-50 win over Prairie View A&M University Wednesday (Feb. 9).
The Lady Broncs were able to take the lead by three points after Devin Reed (Indianapolis, IN/Cowley County C.C.) hit a shot from beyond the arc to take the score to 5-2 with 18:36 on the clock. The early lead would be recovered quickly by the Lady Panthers, and UTPA would play the remainder of the first half trying to keep the game close. Due to some early foul trouble, Coach DeAnn Craft would look to her reserves for a much needed spark.
Senior guard, Jennifer Piwonka (Louise, TX/Louise H.S.) hit two free throws with 8:14 to go in first half action to take the score to within one at 18-17. That would be ask close as the Lady Broncs would come to taking the lead in the first half as PVAMU would build the lead to 12 points with just under three minutes remaining in the half. With the outside shooting of Reed, and some free throw conversions as the half was coming to a close, the Lady Broncs would head into intermission down six, 31-25.
"I felt that the team the team really played through the obstacles in this game. We weren't playing great and calls weren't going our way, but the team really battled it out," stated Craft.
In the second half, PVAMU would push the lead back to 10 points, 38-28, with 17:03 remaining. UTPA would push the ball inside to senior center, Jennifer Arriola (Rio Rico, AZ/Rio Rico H.S.) who would convert on back-to-back possessions in the paint to pull her team to within four points with 14:16 left to play.
"Jennifer played really solid for us inside. She hit two big shots to get the momentum going back in our direction and helped us in that stretch of the game where we were trying to recover the lead," Craft said.
Another player who was dominate in the second half was Tynesha Pierce (Houston, TX/Westfield H.S.), who finished with 13 points - 10 of them coming in the second half. Pierce hit a jumper with 6:59 on the clock to take the team to within three points, 45-42. She would then hit a lay-up to give her team the lead for the first time since the opening possession of the game. With the one-point lead, 47-46, UTPA's Ashley Roberts (Hernando, MS/Butler County C.C.) would hit on 1-of-2 to keep the slim lead with 3:27 to play.
The Lady Panthers would take the lead one more time after a jumper from Monica Grass. However, the biggest bucket of the night would come from UTPA's point guard, Kathy Guin (Guthrie, OK/Guthrie H.S.) who finished a lay-up inside to take her team up by three. Guin was 1-8 on the night from the floor, but the one shot came at an opportune time for the Lady Broncs.
To seal the victory, Pierce would convert on two from the free throw line with 10 seconds remaining in the game. PVAMU would throw up a three to try and tie the game, but the missed bucket gave the Lady Broncs their 12th win on the season.
"This game was a team win for us. We got a little bit from a lot of people and were able to recover the lead and hold on to it. Tynesha played an outstanding game, and I felt Ashley's defense was really a driving force for us. The team really pulled together and played hard in a game where we really had a hard time finding a good flow," Craft concluded.
Pierce led the team with a double-double, including 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Roberts finished with nine points.
The Lady Broncs will be back in action against Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Tuesday (Feb. 15) on the road slated to tip off at 7:00 p.m.
UTPA Sports Information
