Jan. 15, 2007
Box Score
The University of Texas-Pan American women's basketball team handed Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi its first home loss of the season on Monday (Jan. 15) when it defeated the Southland Conference opponent by a score of 53-48 at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, TX.
The Lady Broncs improved to 8-11 on the season while the Islanders dropped to 8-8, picking up its first win against the South Texas rival since 2003.
UTPA opened the contest matching Texas A&M - Corpus Christi shot-for-shot in the first four minutes of the contest until Corpus Christi native MaHogany Daniel (Corpus Christi, TX/Mary Carroll H.S.) scored a lay-up in the paint to put Lady Broncs up by one point with the score 7-6 at the 15:45 mark in the first half.
The Lady Bronc then went on a 17-6 run led by LeKeisha Gray (Muskogee, OK/Butler County C.C.) who scored 13 of the teams 17 points on the scoring run to put UTPA up 24-12 with 4:56 remaining in the opening half of play.
UTPA finished the first 20 minutes of the contest with an eight-point lead with the score 30-22. The Lady Broncs shot 50.0 percent on 13-of-26 from the field while holding the Islanders to 25.0 percent on 7-of-28 shooting. The UTPA bench scored 10 points in the first half to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's three points.
The Islanders were able to close the lead to two points on two occasions in the opening minutes of the second half, but a Gray three pointer sparked the Lady Broncs 9-0 run to make the score 41-30 at the 10:57 mark.
With 5:28 second remaining in the game and holding a nine point lead, the Lady Bronc's top defensive force and lone senior, Daniel, fouled out of the contest, and the veteran Islanders saw their window of opportunity and took advantage.
Texas A&M - Corpus Christi proceeded to go on a 10-3 run capped by an Elisa Beagle lay-up to close the Lady Bronc lead to one point, making the score 49-48 with 2:38 remaining in the contest.
The Beagle lay-up would be the final basket for the Islanders as the Lady Broncs zone defense led on the perimeter by freshman Rose Esther Jean (Missouri City, TX/Hightower H.S.) denied any chance of a comeback in the final minutes of the contest.
UTPA concluded the night shooting 44.9 percent from the field on 22-of-49 shooting while holding the normally sharp-shooting Islanders to a mere 24.6 percent on 14-of-57 shooting. The Islanders were held to 48 points on the night which is 20 points below their season average of 68.2 points per game.
"We've recommitted ourselves to playing great defense. I thought our half court defense was extremely good tonight, and we responded to their knockout punch on several occasions tonight. I thought this was the biggest road win since I've been here," said Craft.
The Lady Broncs were led by newcomer Gray who scored 18 points on 7-of-12 from the field, including 3-of-8 from behind the arc while adding seven rebounds and two steals in 37 minutes of play.
"LeKeisha was determined to make sure the team got a win tonight. Her leadership was showcased tonight the full 40 minutes of the game," said Craft.
In a homecoming of sorts for Daniel she scored seven points on 3-of-3 shooting while adding seven rebounds, three blocks and three steals in just 25 minutes on the court.
The Islanders had two playing score in double figures in Jenesis Shaw and Kirbria Lewis who scored 16 and 18 points, respectively.
"I thought Rose Esther played great defense for us tonight. She did things that don't show up in the stats like altering shots and using her athleticism to play great perimeter defense and not allowing them to have a good look at the basket. Rachel Jones and Cinthia Ramirez also played extremely well defensively down the stretch for us," said Craft.
UTPA Sports Information
