For Immediate Release: Monday, February 03, 2003
Contact: Dave Geringer, UTPA Sports Information Director, (956) 381-2240

LADY BRONCS FALL AT CENTENARY, 60-58

SHREVEPORT, LA-Centenary took control midway through the second half and held off a late rally by The University of Texas-Pan American men's basketball team to earn a 60-58 victory over the Lady Broncs at the Gold Dome Saturday afternoon.

Demetria Dorsey's jump shot with 39 seconds remaining accounted for the winning points. Her jump shot gave Centenary a 59-56 lead after consecutive jump shots by senior forward Naima Williams (Houston, TX/Clear Brook HS) the Lady Broncs had cut the lead to a single point, 57-56, with 53.3 seconds remaining.

However, Williams drew her fifth foul with 8.7 seconds remaining. Julie Danieles of CC made one of two free throws to make it 60-58. The Lady Broncs got the ball to senior guard Alex Gravel (Chicoutimi, Quebec/Vanier HS), but her three-pointer missed at the buzzer.

"We were down one after we scored, and they got the ball inbounds, and we fouled immediately," said UTPA Interim Head Coach Tracy Anderson. "Alex got a good look at a three, and it didn't go. We fought pretty hard the last two minutes to get within one, and we had several good possessions where we executed well and got good looks."

Louise Smyth's three-pointer broke a 36-all tie and gave the Ladies the lead for good with 12:59 remaining. They stretched their advantage to seven points, 46-39, with 10:10 to play before Texas-Pan American battled back.

Senior forward Julie Porter (Manchester, MI/Manchester HS/Kalamazoo Valley JC) hit a pair of jump shots to cut Centenary's lead to 46-43 with 7:23 remaining. The Ladies increased their lead to eight points, 55-47, with 3:46 to play.

Gravel then made a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 55-48, then sophomore forward Jennifer Arriola (Rio Rico, AZ/Rio Rico HS) and junior guard Amanda Carlow (Pine Ridge, SD/Rapid City CHS/Northeast CC) converted jump shots to bring the Lady Broncs to within five points and set the stage for their final rally that fell just short.

The Lady Broncs used an 8-2 run at the end of the first half to take a three-point lead at halftime. Senior guard Alex Gravel (Chicoutimi, Quebec/Vanier HS), tied the game with a three-pointer, then converted two free throws to put Texas-Pan American ahead by two. After the Ladies tied it, junior guard Amanda Carlow (Pine Ridge, SD/Rapid City CHS/Northeast CC) hit a three-pointer to give UTPA a 29-26 lead at the break.

"Overall, we didn't shoot the ball well, and we didn't capitalize when we went to the free throw line," said Anderson. "We didn't seem to get into a rhythm, and we gave up a 10-3 run from the 13 minute mark down to the eight minute mark, and that made a big difference in the game. We had some defensive lapses, and Julie was in foul trouble the whole game, which affected us defensively. When you don't shoot well, you have to clamp down defensively, and we weren't able to do that."

Gravel led UT Pan American with 14 points, and Williams added 13. Williams had nine rebounds, and Gravel seven as the Lady Broncs outrebounded CC, 40-38. Van'esha Brabson had 16 for Centenary, Danieles added 12 and Dorsey contributed 11.

Gravel is now within 28 points of UTPA's all-time leading scorer, Becky Dube, with her output, while Williams is within 45 points of the all-time mark. Gravel, who ranks second all-time in scoring with 1112 points, and Williams, who has 1095, trail Dube, who had 1140 and finished her career in 1986.

The Lady Broncs fell to 4-17 with the defeat. Centenary improved to 5-14. UTPA will return to action when they host Louisiana-Lafayette Monday evening.

"We'll come back and do a walk through for them tomorrow, and it will be tough, because they're coming off a big win over North Texas," said Anderson. "They have some good players, and we're going to have to do a good job defensively against them."

WBB-40-03020103