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For
Immediate Release: January 14, 2002 LAFAYETTE,
LA-The University of Texas-Pan American women’s basketball made Monday
night’s game at Louisiana-Lafayette game a dogfight. In the end, the Lady Cajuns had
a bit too much for the Lady Broncs, holding on for a 70-61 victory at
Earl K. Long Gymnasium. UL-Lafayette used an early 8-1
run to take a 20-13 lead midway through the first half. But UTPA fought
back and cut the advantage to 25-19 before the Lady Cajuns struck again. A 14-3 run gave
Louisiana-Lafayette a 39-22 advantage with 3:18 remaining in the first
half. The Lady Cajuns stretched their
lead in the second half, taking a 57-42 lead with 7:22 to go. The Lady
Broncs came back, and twice closed the gap to five points, but could get
no closer. “We competed extremely hard,
and we came back, and that shows the character of our team,” said UTPA
Head Coach Karin Nicholls. “We did a good job of changing up our
defense in the first half, and we pressed most of the second half, from
the 16 minute mark on. I thought (junior guard) Michelle (Smith,
Vancouver, BC/Heritage Park HS) played well tonight. (Junior forward)
Naima (Williams, Houston, TX/Clear Brook HS) and (senior forward) Kelli
(Kreuser, Bettendorf, IA/Davenport North HS/Truman State) continued to
lead the way offensively. We showed the character of our team, and that
shows what kind of a team we can be at the end of this year and next
year.” Kreuser had 17 points to pace
the Lady Broncs, and also led UTPA with three assists. Smith added 16
points, and Williams added 13, while junior center Julie Porter
(Manchester, MI/Manchester HS/Kalamazoo Valley JC) led everyone with a
career-high 12 rebounds, although the Lady Broncs were outrebounded,
47-46. Sarah Richey led the Lady
Cajuns with 18 points, while Breanna Evans added 16. With the loss, UTPA dropped to
4-14, while UL-Lafayette improved to 6-11. “If we can win ten games this
year, that would be the first-ever back-to-back years with double-digit
wins in the history of the program,” said Nicholls. “If we continue
to play hard, we can get there.” UTPA will return home to host New Mexico State in the first game of a doubleheader Thursday night. The game will start at 6:00 p.m. prior to the men’s game against Lipscomb. WBBULLAFAYETTE011402 |