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SPORTS
| UPDATED JAN. 23
Women's basketball
Lady Mavs end 6-game hot streak
After a strong first half, the
team’s shooting percentage falls to 26% to lose against the
Bobcats.
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| The Shorthorn: Brandon Wade |
| Junior center Sheena Johnson goes up
for a shot while a Southwest Texas Bobcat tries to block
it Thursday night in Texas Hall. She had five rebounds
and eight points. The Lady Mavs lost, 70-61. |
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by R.C.
Wendler
The Shorthorn staff
Riding a six-game winning streak, the Lady
Mavs entered Thursday in first place in the Southland Conference
after Stephen F. Austin fell 64-50 to UT-San Antonio on Wednesday
night.
A win against Southwest Texas State on Thursday would have increased
that lead, but the Lady Mavs could not capitalize, losing 70-61
to the Bobcats.
UTA had a 31-28 lead at the half after shooting over 50 percent
from the floor and forcing 18 turnovers. But the second half was
a different story.
“I was very disappointed in the effort of our team,” Coach
Donna Capps said. “We didn’t play hard. We would deny
them the ball for four seconds on the inbound pass and then just
let them have it.”
The team allowed the Bobcats to score 42 points in the second half.
Meanwhile, UTA’s shooting dipped to 26 percent.
Sophomore guard Chronda Reagan, who scored all 13 of her points
in the first half, said the team came out a step slower than the
Bobcats. But she said the defense was more responsible for the loss.
“To give up 70 points is a real disappointment for us,”
she said. “We usually buckle down on defense and give up 50
points. Tonight we slipped up.”
Still, the Lady Mavs had a seven-point lead with 15 minutes left
to play. But Southwest took control during the next six minutes,
going on a 13-2 run that put them up by four. UTA never regained
the lead.
The Lady Mavs also lost the battle on the boards, as the Bobcats
out-rebounded them 41 to 28. Bobcat center Tori Talbert, the nation’s
second leading rebounder, was held to just seven boards. Four of
her teammates collected five or more rebounds each. Capps said she
was not pleased in particular with the team’s effort on the
offensive glass.
Junior center Sheena Johnson said the Lady Mavs didn’t focus
on team rebounding.
“I think everyone was concerned about something else,”
she said. “We were standing around figuring like it might fall
into our hands.”
Johnson said she was also disappointed in the team’s lackluster
second-half offense — especially compared to the Bobcats.
“We came out the first four minutes and looked awesome,”
she said. “We got away from the offense in the second half,
and it seemed like every time [Southwest Texas] put up a shot around
the basket, it went in. You’re going to have your ups and your
downs, but I didn’t expect us to be that cold.”
Capps said the team was not looking past the Bobcats to a game with
SFA on Saturday. Reagan, who injured her thumb against Southwest,
said the team would not dwell on Thursday’s loss. SFA is the
team to beat, she said.
“They gave it to us both times last year, and we don’t
want it to happen again.”
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SOUTHWEST TEXAS 70, UTA 61
Southwest Texas 28 42 — 70
UTA 31 30 — 61
Points — UTA: C. Reagan 6-8 0-0 13; L. Lewis 3-9 4-4
11; K. Buchanan 3-7 0-0 7 9; S. Johnson 4-7 0-1 8; M. Fairley
3-8 0-0 8; T. Brown 1-7 4-4 6; R. Ogunoye 1-9 2-4 4; J. Brown
2-3 0-3 4;K. Rumph 0-4 0-0 0
Southwest Texas: J. Brooks 4-8 6-6 17; Talbert 6-12 0-0 12;
C. West 3-6 2-3 9; A. Johnson 3-8 1-2 7; H. Burrow 3-6 0-0
6; K. Hinton 3-3 0-0 6; A. Johnson 1-2 2-2 5; T. A. Marshall
2-3 0-2 4; S. Dodds 2-4 0-0 4; A. McGruder 0-0 0-0 0; C. Mize
0-0 0-0 0
Rebounds: UTA 28 (S. Johnson 5, R. Ogunoye 4, T. Brown 4)
Southwest Texas 41 ( A. McGruder 8, T. Talbert 7)
Assists: UTA 14 (K. Buchanan 8) Southwest Texas 16 (A. Johnson
5, K. Hinton 3)
Blocks: UTA 1 (R. Ogunoye) Southwest Texas 4 (H. Burrow 2,
A. Johnson 1, T. Talbert 1)
Steals: UTA 9 (R. Ogunoye 2, C. Reagan 2, L. Lewis 2) Southwest
Texas 10 (A. Johnson 3, J. Brooks 2, H. Burrow 2)
Attendance: 727
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