For Immediate Release: Tuesday, January 21, 2003
Contact: Adam Pitterman, UTPA Assistant Sports Information Director, (956) 381-2240

LADY BRONCS FALL TO ARKANSAS STATE, 68-59


JONESBORO, AR-Arkansas State survived a late rally and held off The University of Texas-Pan American women's basketball team, 68-59, at the Convocation Center Tuesday night. With their second straight win, the Lady Indians improved to 7-11, while Texas-Pan American fell to 2-15.

The Lady Broncs, who trailed at halftime, 41-26, outscored ASU, 26-14, to close to within three points at 55-52 with 6:34 remaining. Senior forward Naima Williams (Houston, TX/Clear Brook HS) keyed the run with two jump shots, a layup, and two free throws.

Catriece Webster's free throw gave ASU a 57-52 lead. After senior forward Julie Porter (Manchester, MI/Manchester HS/Kalamazoo Valley JC) connected on a free throw, Casie Lowman of Arkansas State connected on a jumper and a three-pointer to increase ASU's lead to nine points, 62-53, with 4:25 remaining.

UT Pan American made another run. Williams and sophomore guard Jennifer Piwonka (Louise, TX/Louise HS) hit jumpers, and Piwonka made two free throws to draw the Lady Broncs to within three, 62-59, with 1:40 remaining. But Webster made a jumper and added a free throw, and ASU made three more free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

Williams led Texas-Pan American with 16 points, while senior guard Alex Gravel (Chicoutimi, Quebec/ Vanier HS) added 12 points. Williams had a team-high eight rebounds for the Lady Broncs. Lowman scored 25 points for ASU, while Webster had 18.

"We gave up too many three-pointers in the first half, and we didn't do a good job of guarding them," said UTPA Head Coach Tracy Anderson. "In the second half, we switched our defense, we did a much better job of covering their shooters, and we took care of the ball in a pretty hostile environment. They were very physical, and I was proud of our kids, we fought hard and didn't panic. We got down to within three points twice, and we had two good looks, and they came down and made a running one-hander with the shot clock expiring. Naima played well on both ends of the floor, and Alex had four steals and played a great all-around game. We dug ourselves a huge hole, but we didn't fold against a team that has been playing very well lately."

The Lady Broncs will return to action when they visit Arkansas-Little Rock Thursday night. "They'll be similar to Arkansas State," said Anderson. "They're going to play us man. We had some people who played a lot of minutes, so our bench will have to play well for us Thursday. It will be another tough place to play, and a win would be huge."

-WBB-35-03012103-