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For
Immediate Release: January 10, 2002 EDINBURG,
TX- The University of Texas-Pan American women’s basketball team built a
14-point lead in the first half, but Centenary fought back, outscoring
the Lady Broncs, 49-36 in the second half and holding on for an 83-79
victory Thursday night before what is believed to be the largest crowd ever to see the
women’s team play at the UTPA Fieldhouse. A
crowd of 3411 went home disappointed after the Ladies outscored UTPA,
22-8 during a period of just over nine minutes to tie the game at 56. Centenary
led by seven points, 76-69, with 1:07 remaining. Junior guard Michelle
Smith (Vancouver, BC/Heritage Park HS) and freshman guard Anette
Johansen (Oslo, Norway, Foss Videregaaende HS) sandwiched three-pointers
around a pair of Kreuser free throws in the final minute, but the Lady
Broncs could get no closer than two points. Centenary connected on nine
of ten free throws in the final 1:04 to put the game away. The
Lady Broncs used seven steals to force 15 turnovers in the first half en
route to creating their lead. But CC turned the ball over only twice in
the second half, and finished the game making 50.9 per cent of their
shots to UTPA’s 36.1 per cent. “In
the second half, they were able to penetrate and pitch,” said UTPA
Head Coach Karin Nicholls. “I don’t think it was anything they did
differently. I thought that we didn’t maintain our focus defensively.
They got a lot of offensive rebounds for putbacks, and that hurt us.”
Senior forward Kelli Kreuser
(Bettendorf, IA/Davenport North HS/Truman State) tied her career high
with 27 points, adding eight assists and four steals. Junior forward
Naima Williams (Houston, TX/Clear brook HS) added 16 points, while Smith
and Johansen each scored 12 points, with Johansen grabbing nine
rebounds. Julie Danieles led Centenary
with 22 points, Lori Tanner added 19, Van’esha Brabson had 16, and
Alexis Pettway added 13. With the defeat, UTPA dropped
to 4-13, while the Ladies improved to 5-12. The Lady Broncs will return
to action when they visit Louisiana-Lafayette Monday evening at 7:00
p.m. WBBCENTENARY1011002 |