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For
Immediate Release: December 13, 2001 EDINBURG, TX-A home game was apparently just what the University of Texas-Pan American women’s basketball team needed to break their six-game losing streak. Playing at home for only the second time since their season-opening tournament, UTPA jumped out to a 34-17 halftime lead and defeated Texas A&M-Kingsville, 70-55, before a season-high crowd of 1907 at the UTPA Fieldhouse Thursday evening. Junior
forward Naima Williams (Houston, TX/Clear Brook HS) scored 10 points and
grabbed nine rebounds in the first half as UTPA jumped out to a 17-point
halftime advantage. The Lady Broncs limited TAMUK to just five points in
the final 7:50 of the first half, A
jump shot by senior forward Kelli Kreuser (Bettendorf, IA/Davenport
North HS/Truman State), a pair of baskets by freshman guard Nikki
Hitchens (Las Vegas, NV/Silverado HS), a layup by freshman guard
Jennifer Piwonka (Louise, TX/Louise HS) and a three-pointer by freshman
guard Anette Johansen (Oslo, Norway/Foss Videregaaende HS) staked UTPA
to a 45-23 advantage with 13:02 to play. The
Lady Javelinas fought back, but couldn’t get closer than 11 points
(64-53) before junior guard Michelle Smith (Vancouver, BC/Heritage Park
HS) scored the Lady Broncs’ final six points to cement the victory. “It’s always good to get a win,” said UTPA Head Coach Karin Nicholls. “It would have been nice if we could have finished as strongly as we started. We are playing better, our defense is improved, we’re working together better as a team, and we’re improving our chemistry, which is something that has to be developed with a young team.” Williams led the Lady Broncs with 16 points and 15 rebounds. Kreuser added 15 points, while Smith and Hitchens added 12 points each. Teombi Batiste had 19 points for the Lady Javelinas, while Arie Wilson added 12. The Lady Broncs improved to 2-8 with the victory,
while TAMUK fell to 2-6 with the defeat. UTPA will return to action when
they visit Weber State Saturday. “We have two tough games coming up in Weber State and Wyoming,” said Nicholls. “Weber State beat us here last year, and we beat Wyoming here last season. Both teams have improved over last year, and they’ll be tougher to beat on the road.” WBBTAMUK121301
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