Dutch Cowgill
Erin Lewis (Photo Credit: Dutch Cowgill)

Women's Basketball

Women's Basketball Hosts Stephen F. Austin Saturday

Game One of Broncs Basketball Doubleheader

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EDINBURG, Texas -- The University of Texas-Pan American Broncs women's basketball team (3-7) hosts the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks (7-1) on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at the UTPA Fieldhouse.

It's the first game of a Broncs basketball doubleheader as the men's basketball team hosts Texas A&M International University at 7:00 p.m. It is a single-admission doubleheader.

What You Need to Know

The Broncs are looking for their first win against the Ladyjacks … This is the eighth meeting between the two teams in a series that dates back to 1986 … The Broncs fell at Stephen F. Austin last year, 96-67 … Before that, the Broncs hadn't played the Ladyjacks since the 1998-99 season … This Broncs are 2-1 against Southland Conference opponents this season … The Ladyjacks are coming off of a 61-46 loss at Arkansas (12/6/11).

UTPA 69, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 52 (12/7/11):
  • The Broncs swept the season series for the first time in the 13-season history of the rivalry.
  • The Broncs are now 4-2 against the Islanders in the three seasons since Denny Downing became head coach.
  • Donna Jackson scored a season-high and tied for the game-high with 14 points to go with a game-high eight rebounds.
  • Bianca Torre tied her season-highs with 13 points and seven assists to go with five rebounds and a game-high tying three steals.
  • LaQuita Garner scored a game-high tying 14 points with a game-high tying three steals.
  • Erin Lewis dished out a season-high eight assists.
  • Senior Ashley Watson saw her first action of the season, grabbing one rebound in two minutes off the bench.

Team Notes

Nebraska 65, UTPA 27 (12/4/11):
  • The Broncs led 2-0 and were within 5-4 in the opening minutes.
  • Donna Jackson recorded a season and game-high five steals.
  • Erin Lewis tied her season-high and tied for the game-high with seven rebounds.
  • Johnondra Patterson returned to the starting lineup after coming off the bench in the previous three games. Patterson started the first five games of the season.
 
On Any Given Day: Although the Broncs fell to the Nebraska Cornhuskers 65-27 on December 4, the Broncs do have a win in Lincoln in program history. Alex Gravel hit six three-pointers and the Broncs hit all 14 of their free throw attempts to beat the Cornhuskers 61-58 on January 5, 2003. The 2002-03 Broncs finished with a record of 7-21 and were 0-11 entering the contest in Lincoln. The Broncs' head coach that season was Tracy Anderson, who only coached the team that year. The Huskers were coached by Connie Yori, then her first season, who is still the head coach today. The Broncs are now 1-2 all-time against the Huskers.
 
Homecoming: When the Broncs played Nebraska on December 4, it was a homecoming for assistant coach LaToya Howell, who played for Nebraska during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons after transferring from Air Force Academy. As a senior, she dished out the eighth most assists in a single-season ever by a Husker and the third most by a senior with 159. She also helped the Huskers to the Quarterfinals of the WNIT for the first time in school history. Howell averaged 7.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 3.3 steals in three WNIT games. She hit a pair of free throws with 26 seconds left to seal a first round win over Drake and hit two free throws with 1:33 left to put the Huskers up 67-65 over Wyoming in the second round.
 
Sam Houston State University 64, UTPA 56 (11/29/11):
  • Adanna Opara recorded her fist double-double of the season and the second of her career with a season-high 16 points and a season-high 12 rebounds (nine offensive). Opara hit 4-of-7 shots from the field and 8-of-9 from the line.
  • LaQuita Garner became the first Bronc to score 20 points this season, hitting 5-of-12 shots, including 4-of-8 from behind the arc to go with a 6-for-6 performance from the line.
  • The Broncs led 30-29 at halftime.
 
UTPA 58, TAMUCC 56 (11/29/11):
  • Adanna Opara scored with two seconds left to give the Broncs the victory.
  • The win broke a four-game losing streak.
  • It was the Broncs' first road win of the season.
  • The Broncs had four players in double-figures scoring for the first time this season
  • Adanna Opara led the team in scoring for the first time this season with a season-high 15 points and a season-high nine rebounds and two blocked shots.
  • Bianca Torre tied her season-highs with 13 points and four rebounds to go with four assists and a game-high five steals.
  • Donna Jackson recorded her first double-double of the season with 11 points and a season-high 12 rebounds.
  • LaQuita Garner scored 10 points with a season-high five assists, three steals and one block.
  • Broncs head coach Denny Downing took over second place on the all-time program wins list with 27, breaking a tie with John McDowell (1983-86). DeAnn Craft (2003-09) is the all-time leader with 70.
 
Yale 59, UTPA 57 (11/26/11):
  • The Broncs had leads of 48-47 and 50-49 late in the game after trailing for most of the second half.
  • The Broncs outscored the Bulldogs 32-28 in the second half.
  • The Broncs outshot the Bulldogs 41.9% (13-for-31) to 29.2% (7-for-24) in the second half.
  • Donna Jackson led the Broncs in scoring for the second-straight game with a season-high 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, plus 5-of-9 from the line, to go with seven rebounds.
  • Bianca Torre scored 11 points with a season-high and game-high seven assists.
  • Cassandra Moody hit her only basket of the game at the halftime buzzer to bring the Broncs within 31-25.
 
McNeese State 67, UTPA 46 (11/25/11):
  • The Broncs led 2-0 and were within 12-11 nearly mid-way through the first half, but the Cowgirls outscored the Broncs 17-5 over the rest of the half to take a 29-16 lead.
  • Donna Jackson became the first Bronc other than LaQuita Garner to lead the team in scoring this season, finishing with 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Garner scored seven points while hitting 2-of-3 shots.
  • After hitting 6-of-21 shots (28.6%) in the first half, the Broncs hit 11-of-24 (45.8%) in the second half.
  • The Broncs recorded five blocked shots for the second time this season (three by Adanna Opara and two by Cassandra Moody). The Broncs are averaging 5.2 blocks per game.

UTEP 62, UTPA 51 (11/22/11):
  • After being down by as many as 18, the Broncs went on an 11-2 run towards the end of the game to pull within 10 in the final minute.
  • LaQuita Garner led the Broncs in scoring for the fourth-straight game, finishing with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting. She also hit the Broncs' lone three-pointer of the night.
  • Adanna Opara became the fourth different Bronc to reach double-figures in scoring during a game this season by scoring 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting. Garner has done it in all four games while Bianca Torre and Donna Jackson have done it twice each.
 
That's Classic: The Broncs played in their first of two Classics this season when they faced McNeese State and Yale in the Houston Classic on the campus of the University of Houston on November 25 and 26. The Broncs will play Colorado and UT-San Antonio at the UTSA Classic on December 20 and 21.
 
Texas State 66, UTPA 61 (11/18/11):
  • The Broncs led 46-38 with 12:03 remaining, tied for their largest lead of the game.
  • LaQuita Garner hit 4-of-8 shots from behind the arc while scoring a team-high 19 points. She also had a game-high two blocked shots.
  • Donna Jackson and Erin Lewis each recorded a team-high seven rebounds and a game-high two steals. Jackson added 12 points while Lewis dished out seven assists.
  • The Broncs made one more field goal that the Bobcats (24-to-23) and the same number of three-pointers (seven).
 
On the Road Again: The Broncs are in the midst of six-straight games away from the UTPA Fieldhouse. The Broncs return home on December 7 to face Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
 
Local Flavor: Longtime Rio Grande Valley standout Bianca Torre is now in her third season with the Broncs. Torre played her high school career as a four-year letter winner at Harlingen South. She was named the Rio Grande Valley's MVP and averaged 25 points per game in her high school career. Torre was an impact player last season. She started 31 games and averaged a team-high 16.9 points. Torre is on her way to break the school record in ten different categories such as field goals made, field goal percentage, three-point field goals made, assists and steals.  
 
New Horses in the Stable – UTPA has six new players this season. All five starters return from last year's team and six other players also come back to the Green and White.
 
Dashing Denny: Denny Downing is now in his third season as Head Coach of the UTPA women's basketball program. He led the Broncs to a 12-19 record in his second season with the Green and White, which tied the program record for fifth most wins in a season.
 
Welcome to the Fieldhouse: Built in 1969, the Fieldhouse has hosted numerous events including men's and women's basketball and volleyball contests, graduation and professional sports exhibitions. In the summer of 2010, the Fieldhouse received a facelift as the original wooden bleachers were replaced and a new state-of-the-art floor was installed. 
 
Sam Williams Court: The floor at the UTPA Fieldhouse is named after legendary UTPA men's basketball head coach Sam Williams, the program's all-time leader in victories with 244. He led the Broncs to an NAIA National Championship in 1963, the program's lone National Championship. The floor was re-dedicated to Coach Williams last year, and he was also presented the original championship banner that hung in the Fieldhouse rafters.
 
Next Up: The Broncs host Huston-Tillotson University on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. at the UTPA Fieldhouse.
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