Box Score

EDINBURG, Texas – Bianca Torre, LaQuita Garner and Adanna Opara all reached double-figures in scoring as the University of Texas-Pan American Broncs women's basketball team fell to the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux 60-58 on Thursday at the UTPA Fieldhouse.
 
Torre scored eight of her 11 points in the final 1:45 as she tried to rally the Broncs (10-16, 3-5 Great West Conference) back from a 55-48 deficit. She hit two three-pointers and a pair of free throws to bring the Broncs within 58-56 with 30 seconds left. Nicole Smart hit a pair of free throws for the Fighting Sioux (17-10, 7-1 GWC) with 19.1 seconds left, and although Garner hit a lay-up with 6.3 seconds remaining, the Broncs were unable to get the ball back.
 
It was Garner's first game since January 21. She played 18 minutes, all in the second half, while hitting 4-of-8 shots, including 2-of-6 from behind the arc for 10 points.
 
Opara scored 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting while tying for the team-lead with eight rebounds. Johnondra Patterson also had eight rebounds, a new career-high, while scoring eight points to go with a career-high four assists and two steals.
 
The Fighting Sioux jumped out to a 10-4 lead on a Madi Buck jumper in the opening six minutes. The Broncs responded with a 10-4 run to tie the game at 14-14 on an Opara basket with 6:21 left in the first half. The Broncs took their first lead of the game at 20-18 on a basket by Keandra Goodson four minutes later.
 
The game was back and forth from there, with the Broncs leading 43-42 on a Garner jumper with 9:19 to go. The Fighting Sioux then went on a 10-2 run to take a seven-point lead, their largest of the game, on a Buck three-pointer with 5:23 remaining.
 
The Fighting Sioux were led by Smart, who scored 19 points.
 
The Broncs return to action on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. when they host Utah Valley University.
 
Notes: Torre, a native of Harlingen and graduate of Harlingen South High School, upped her career scoring total to 1,211 points, Torre needs 16 more points to catch Alex Gravel (1998-2003) for first place. Torre also moved up in free throws made, hitting two to pass Alexis Williams (1997-2001) for second place with 257, five shy of Naima Williams (262, 1999-2003).
 
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.