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Western New Mexico University Athletics

Western New Mexico University Athletics
Myla Woods-Brown
Jay Hemphill, WNMU
69
Winner UT Permian Basin UTPB 3-5, 2-0 LSC
54
Western N.M. WNMU 0-7, 0-2 LSC
Winner
UT Permian Basin UTPB
3-5, 2-0 LSC
69
Final
54
Western N.M. WNMU
0-7, 0-2 LSC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
UT Permian Basin UTPB 10 15 21 23 69
Western N.M. WNMU 10 15 8 21 54

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Brian Kortz

Lady Mustangs Nearly Fight Back Against Falcons in Fourth Quarter

SILVER CITY, N.M. – Despite holding the advantage in almost every category, the Western New Mexico University women's basketball team was ultimately hurt by 32 turnovers as UT Permian Basin held off a late burst by the Lady Mustangs in the fourth quarter to take the 69-54 Lone Star Conference victory Saturday afternoon.

WNMU (0-7, 0-2 LSC) held the edge on points off turnovers (19-17), second-chance points (11-10), bench points (22-20), points in the paint (32-24) and fastbreak points (8-4).

The Lady Mustangs had even point distribution as eight players scored at least five points, with freshman Cassandra Vickery (Tularosa, NM/Tularosa) leading the way with nine points. Senior Myla Woods-Brown (Roswell, NM/Roswell) was all over the glass as she collected 12 rebounds. Vickery led the way in assists with four and also had a team-best three steals.

Vickery started the scoring 36 seconds in when she connected on a layup after collecting on steal on the defensive end. UTPB (3-5, 2-0 LSC) answered with a 5-0 run and had the lead as high as four at 10-6 when WNMU closed the final minute on a 4-0 run with two straight baskets by junior Ashton Carrasco (El Paso, TX/Canutillo) to leave the game tied at 10 through the first quarter.

WNMU exploded to start the second quarter as they ripped off a 9-0 run with junior Megan Looney (Phoenix, AZ/Apache Junction) accounting for six points, before Vickery capped the run with a three-pointer for the 19-10 lead near the midway point of the quarter.

UTPB worked their way back into the quarter, as they turned up the defensive pressure to force turnovers and go on a 15-6 spurt to leave the game tied at 25 at halftime.

The Lady Mustangs kept the lead early in the third quarter with junior Ciara Fields (El Paso, TX/El Dorado) hitting the first shot of the second stanza and then a three-pointer by freshman Rachel Francisco (Seattle, WA/Holy Names Academy) kept WNMU in front at 30-28. After that, it was all Falcons the rest of the third as they ended up outscoring WNMU 21-8 to open up a 46-33 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.

It was a totally different tune in the fourth quarter for the Lady Mustangs as they came out on fire. Junior Takiyah Lopez (El Paso, TX/Chapin) hit a foul shot to start things and following two from the line by Vickery, Carrasco would hit back-to-back jumpers around a three-pointer by the Falcons to leave the UTPB lead at just seven at 49-42 with six minutes to play in the game.

Lopez connected on a three-pointer two minutes later to draw WNMU to within six, but it was too much Sierra LaGrande down the stretch. The Falcon senior drilled three, three-pointers over the final three minutes of the game to help UTPB pull away for the win.

LaGrande paced the Falcons with 20 points, as she ended up going 6-11 from three-point range. She also came away with five steals. Kayla Bretherton added 10 points. Heather Crittenden led the team in rebounds with six.

WNMU made 21-51 (41) from the field, 3-17 (18) from three and 9-17 (53) at the foul line. UTPB countered making 23-61 (38) from the field, 9-23 (39) from long range and 14-28 (50) at the charity stripe.

The Lady Mustangs will hit the road this coming week as they will play at Tarleton State on Thursday starting at 5:30 p.m. Central Time. The TexAnns fell to both Midwestern State and Cameron on the road this week to open conference play.
 
 
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