For Immediate Release: Thursday, January 23, 2003
Contact: Dave Geringer, UTPA Sports Information Director, (956) 381-2240

LADY BRONCS DOWN ARKANSAS-LITTLE ROCK, 66-56

LITTLE ROCK, AR-The University of Texas-Pan American made 65 per cent of their field goals in the second half, outscored host Arkansas-Little Rock, 39-36, and defeated the Lady Trojans 66-56, at the Trojan Fieldhouse Thursday night.

The Lady Broncs, who led at halftime, 27-20, outscored UALR, 14-9 at the start of the second half to take a 41-29 lead with 13:36 remaining. Senior guard Alex Gravel (Chicoutimi, Quebec/Vanier HS) began the half with consecutive three-pointers, senior forward Naima Williams (Houston, TX/Clear Brook HS) added a jumper, and junior guard Mary DeCock (Lamberton, MN/Red Rock Central HS/Northeast CC) hit a three-pointer to stake Texas-Pan American to a 41-29 lead.

The Lady Trojans countered with a 13-4 run to cut UT Pan American's lead to three points, 45-42, with 8:43 left. After a media time-out, DeCock hit another three-pointer and sophomore guard Jennifer Piwonka hit a layup and two jump shots as the Lady Broncs outscored UALR, 20-6, to build a 62-51 lead with 39 seconds remaining.

"Those were big trips down the floor (after the media time out), said UTPA Interim Head Coach Tracy Anderson. "We worked the clock, made them work on defense, and got great looks with very little time on the shot clock. We played three games in less than a week on the road, and our bench played some great minutes for us."

The Lady Broncs outscored the Lady Trojans, 11-4, during the final 4:58 of the first half to take a 27-20 lead at intermission. DeCock drilled a three-pointer to untie the game, then junior guard Amanda Carlow (Pine Ridge, SD/Rapid City CHS/Northeast CC) and Gravel connected on treys to give Texas-Pan American a seven-point lead. Another jump shot by Gravel with 23 seconds left in the first half sent the Lady Broncs to the locker room with a seven-point advantage at the break.

"The run at the end of the first half was huge," said Anderson. "To shoot that poorly and have a lead on the road was just great. A lot of what we did was predicated on our defense. Even though we didn't shoot well, we did other things well that led to buckets."

Gravel led the Lady Broncs with 21 points, one short of her season high. Williams and DeCock each added 12 points. Gravel had seven rebounds as UTPA outrebounded the Lady Trojans, 29-27. She also made all eight of her free throw attempts as the Lady Broncs made 14 of 16 from the free throw line.

Darci Cassidy led UALR with 19 points, while Eplunus Brooks and Brandy Taylor added 10 points apiece.

"I was really happy with our execution down the stretch," said Anderson. "In the first half, our defense carried us, because we only shot 30 per cent. In the second half, we did a great job of working the clock and executing our offense. We had really good balance. Amanda played a great all-around floor game, with nine assists and no turnovers in 35 minutes. Naima stepped up and played some real good minutes for us, and any time you get someone scoring off the bench like Mary does, it's a really huge lift. Our bench played flawlessly, and we had 12 offensive boards, which allowed us to take a lead in the first half even though we didn't shoot well. "

With the victory, the Lady Broncs improved to 3-15, broke a two-game losing streak, and won for the third time in their last seven games after an 0-11 start. The Lady Trojans dropped to 4-13.

UTPA returns to action when they host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Saturday evening at 7:00 p.m. "Corpus Christi will be a huge game," said Anderson. "We feel like it will be a good game, and one which we should be very competitive in."

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