Immediate Release: Tuesday, January 28, 2003
Contact: Dave Geringer, UTPA Sports Information Director, (956) 381-2240

ORAL ROBERTS EDGES LADY BRONCS, 72-68

TULSA, OK-With five minutes remaining, The University of Texas-Pan American's women's basketball team appeared to be on the way to another upset victory in their game at Oral Roberts Tuesday night.

However, the Golden Eagles caught fire, outscoring the Lady Broncs, 12-4 in the final five minutes and five seconds for a 72-68 victory at the Mabee Center.

Forward Stephanie Clark broke a 66-all tie with consecutive offensive rebound baskets. The first gave the Golden Eagles a 68-66 lead with 2:25 to play, and the second gave Oral Roberts a 70-66 advantage with 1:33 to play.

Senior forward Naima Williams (Houston, TX/Clear Brook HS) scored on an offensive rebound with 15.9 seconds left to cut Oral Roberts' lead to 70-68, but Cori Williston was fouled and made two free throws to account for the final margin.

"For the first 35 minutes of the game, we were outstanding, and then we may have gotten a little tired," said UTPA Interim Head Coach Tracy Anderson. "We had a stretch where we committed a couple of silly fouls and sent them to the line, and then they got two back to back offensive boards with the game tied."

Texas-Pan American had a five-point halftime lead at 42-37, but ORU got a three-pointer from Williston and sandwiched two layups by Leah Cannon around a layup by senior forward Julie Porter (Manchester, MI/Manchester HS/Kalamazoo Valley JC) of UT Pan American to create a 44-all tie.

The teams then traded the lead back and forth, with neither team having more than a three-point lead, until the Lady Broncs got consecutive jump shots from senior guard Alex Gravel (Chicoutimi, Quebec/Vanier HS) and sophomore guard Jennifer Piwonka (Louise, TX/Louise HS) to take a 62-58 lead with 6:25 remaining. Gravel added two free throws a moment later to give UTPA a 64-60 advantage.

Cannon hit a free throw, and Clark hit three in a row as the Golden Eagles tied the score at 64 with 3:56 remaining. Porter hit two free throws to give the Lady Broncs their final lead at 66-64. Cannon then hit a layup to tie the score at 66, and set the stage for ORU's game-winning surge.

The Lady Broncs trailed early, but used a 12-3 run midway through the first to take the first half lead for good. Senior forward Julie Porter (Manchester, MI/Manchester HS/Kalamazoo Valley JC) made two free throws and an eight foot jump shot, and sophomore guard Jennifer Piwonka followed with a three-pointer as the Lady Broncs built a 30-24 advantage.

The Golden Eagles fought back, outscoring Texas-Pan American, 13-6 to take a 37-36 lead on a three-pointer by Cori Williston with three minutes remaining in the first half. But sophomore forward Jennifer Arriola (Rio Rico, AZ/Rio Rico HS) connected on a layup and added a free throw, then senior guard Alex Gravel (Chicoutimi, Quebec/Vanier HS) drained a three-pointer in the waning moments as the Lady Broncs took a 42-37 advantage to the locker room.

UT Pan American made seven of eight three-point field goals in the first half, and shot 57.1 per cent from the field on 16 of 28. ORU made 14 of 28 for 50 percent, and was eight of 11 from three-point range. Williston finished the first half with 19 points, while Gravel ended first half action with 16.

Gravel and Williston each scored 26 points to tie for game scoring honors. Gravel made nine of 16 shots from the field and 6 of 11 shots from three-point range in posting her biggest scoring output since she scored a career-high 30 against Loyola of Chicago as a junior two years ago. Williams and Porter added 12 points each. Senior point guard Amanda Carlow (Pine Ridge, SD/Rapid City CHS/Northeast CC) had seven assists, while Piwonka added five.

Cannon had 15 points for ORU, while Clark and Garcia had 10 apiece.

Gravel moved within 42 points of UTPA's all-time leading scorer, Becky Dube, with her output, while Williams is within 58 points of the all-time mark. Gravel, who ranks second all-time in scoring with 1098 points, and Williams, who has 1082, trail Dube, who had 1140 and finished her career in 1986.

"They ran a lot of different things defensively, but we executed well, and got phenomenal looks," said Anderson. "Alex had a great game, and we really made the extra pass and played unselfishly. Amanda and Jen did a great job, they took great care of the ball and allowed us to get the open looks we needed. We played hard and gave ourselves a chance to win at the end. Now we have to learn to finish the close ones."

The Lady Broncs saw their two-game winning streak end, and fell to 4-16 with the defeat. ORU won their eighth straight game at home and improved to 14-4. UTPA will return to action when they visit Centenary Saturday afternoon.

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