Box Score

EDINBURG, Texas – Junior guard Franchesca Simon scored a career-high 19 points to lead the University of Texas-Pan American Broncs women's basketball team past the University of Texas at Arlington Mavericks 72-65 in overtime on Wednesday at the UTPA Fieldhouse.
 
This was the Broncs' (5-11) first ever win over the Mavericks (1-8).
 
Simon tied her career-highs with a season-high four three-pointers and a season-high six field goals made. She also pulled in a career-high eight rebounds.
 
The Mavericks scored the first points of the game, but Simon hit a pair of three-pointers as the Broncs went on an 8-0 run to take the lead. The Mavericks closed within 10-8, but the Broncs used a 9-3 run, which included another lay-up by Simon, to make it 19-11.
 
Sabreena DeNure hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 19-19 with 6:02 remaining in the first half, part of a 10-4 run that saw the Mavericks take a 23-21 lead on a Malaika Green lay-up two minutes later.
 
Simon hit a three-pointer as the Broncs scored the first five points of the second half to take a 34-28 lead, but DeNure hit a lay-up to cap a 6-0 run that tied the game with 16:46 remaining. Keandra Goodson hit a free throw seconds later to give the Broncs the lead back.
 
Chauntandr Williams hit a three-pointer to give the Mavericks a 45-44 lead mid-way through the half, but Bianca Torre responded with a deep three of her own to put the Broncs back on top.
 
The Mavericks went up 53-51 with under six minutes remaining on a Rosalyn Thorpe lay-up, but Simon and Moody hit back-to-back lay-ups to put the Broncs ahead 55-53.
 
Briana Walker hit a three and Green hit a bank shot with 1:18 to go as the Mavericks went up 58-55. Torre hit a long two-pointer, and after Bianca Sauls hit a free throw, Goodson hit a lay-up to tie the game at 59-59 to force overtime.
 
Donna Jackson hit a free throw to give the Broncs the lead for good in the opening seconds of overtime. Goodson came up with a steal that led to a lay-up with 3:33 left to make it 62-59 and LaQuita Garner and Simon hit three-pointers in the final minutes to put the game on ice.
 
Jackson finished with a season-high 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and 7-of-10 shooting from the line. She also recorded 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.
 
Goodson scored nine points with a career-high 15 rebounds, 10 of which were offensive and a career-high two steals.
 
Thorpe led the Mavericks with a game-high 20 points and seven rebounds. Sauls scored 16 points with eight rebounds.
 
The Broncs return to action on Monday at 7:00 p.m. when they host Our Lady of the Lake at the UTPA Fieldhouse.
 
The University of Texas-Pan American Department of Intercollegiate Athletics competes at the NCAA Division I classification. UTPA, formerly known as Pan American College and Pan American University, is a part of the University of Texas System of Schools. The Broncs compete in 14 varsity sports; men's and women's basketball, golf, tennis, track and field, and cross country, along with women's volleyball and men's baseball. In 1963, then known as Pan American College, the Broncs men's basketball program won the NAIA National Championship with a 73-62 victory over Western Carolina. In 2008 UTPA joined the new all-sports division of the Great West Conference.