Immediate Release: Thursday, February 13, 2003
Contact: Adam Pitterman, UTPA Assistant Sports Information Director, (956) 381-2240

MASTODONS DEFEAT LADY BRONCS, 64-57

FORT WAYNE, IN- Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne overcame sophomore guard Jennifer Piwonka's (Louise, TX/Louise HS) career high 18-point outburst to defeat The University of Texas-Pan American women's basketball team, 64-57, at the Gates Sports Center Thursday. The Mastodons improved to 9-16 with their sixth win in their last seven games, while Texas-Pan American fell to 4-20.

The Lady Broncs held a 55-46 lead with 6:45 remaining, but the Mastodons closed the game with an 18-2 run to provide the final margin. Maggie Bruening hit a jumper and a three-pointer to start the rally, and Courtney Nicely hit a jumper with 3:10 remaining to tie the score at 55-all.

Verea Bibbs made a layup to put IPFW ahead for good. After the Lady Broncs were unable to convert, Nicley's jumper put the Mastodons ahead, 59-55. Senior forward Julie Porter (Manchester, MI/Manchester HS/Kalamazoo Valley JC) drew a foul and converted two free throws, but UTPA didn't score for the remainder of the game.

"They hit some big shots down the stretch, and we couldn't get one to fall," said UTPA Interim Head Coach Tracy Anderson. "We didn't shoot the ball very well. We couldn't have gotten any better offensive looks than we were getting, we just weren't able to finish when we needed to in the second half."

UT Pan American scored the first 14 points of the game, leading, 14-0, less than four minutes into the game. Senior center Naima Williams (Houston, TX/Clear Brook HS) hit a jumper to open the scoring, followed by a layup from junior guard Amanda Carlow (Pine Ridge, SD/Rapid City CHS/Northeast JC), a jumper from Piwonka, and a three-pointer from senior guard Alex Gravel (Chicoutimi, Quebec/Vanier HS). UTPA led 21-4 with 12:47 remaining in the half, but the Mastodons used a 26-13 run to trim the deficit to 34-30 at halftime.

"Offensively, I thought Jennifer Piwonka played the best game she's played all year," said Anderson. "(Freshman forward) Stacey Gooden (Houston, TX/Dobie HS) came in and gave us some good minutes off the bench, and (senior guard) Michelle Smith (Vancouver, BC/Heritage HS) did a good job defensively and on the boards. We did a good job of controlling the tempo, but we just didn't hit our shots."

Piwonka led the Lady Broncs with 18 points, Gravel added 16 points and three assists, while Carlow had eight points. Porter grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, as UTPA outrebounded IPFW, 36-29. Nicley had 16 points for the Mastodons, while Maggie Bruening added 11.
IPFW outshot the Lady Broncs 46.3-38.2 percent. UTPA was nine-for-10 from the free throw line, while the Mastodons were 12-18.

The Lady Broncs will return to action when they play Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne in a rematch next Tuesday evening at the UTPA Fieldhouse.

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