Box Score

EDINBURG, Texas – The University of Texas-Pan American Broncs women's basketball team is now on a four-game winning streak following a 43-39 victory over the Chicago State University Cougars to open Great West Conference play on Thursday at the UTPA Fieldhouse.
 
It is the Broncs' (8-11, 1-0 GWC) longest winning streak in two years.
 
The Cougars (2-16, 0-1 GWC) scored the first eight points of the game, but Harlingen-native Bianca Torre got the Broncs on the board for the first time with a three-pointer at the 15:37 mark.
 
Trailing 15-6 late in the half, Torre hit a three, Johnondra Patterson drove the baseline for a lay-up and Adanna Opara made a lay-up to bring the Broncs within 15-13.
 
Opara hit a basket in the closing seconds of the half to bring the Broncs within 19-15 and spark an 11-0 run, that included two baskets by Donna Jackson plus a three-point play and a lay-up by Keandra Goodson that saw the Broncs go up 24-19 four and a half minutes into the second half.
 
The Cougars scored the next five points, tying the game at 24-24, and the game stayed within two points most of the rest of the way. Janay Dockery hit back-to-back three-pointers to give the Cougars a 37-34 lead with 3:25 remaining.
 
Torre tied the game with a three-pointer the next time down the court, and Opara gave the Broncs the lead for good with a lay-up that made it 39-37 with 58 seconds left.
 
Torre led all scorers with a season-high 21 points on 6-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-11 from behind the arc, to go with three assists and three steals. Opara scored six points with a game-high tying nine rebounds.
 
Dockery led the Cougars with 18 points on 6-of-25 shooting.
 
The Broncs return to action on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. when they host NJIT 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.