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TWU
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Life > Athletics > Basketball > 2/9/06
PIONEERS STRUGGLE IN SECOND HALF AGAINST NO. 19 LADY BUFFS
DENTON , Texas – It was a tale of two halves as Texas Woman’s University fell to No. 19 West Texas A&M 59-73 in Lone Star Conference action at Magee Arena.
The Pioneers (11-10, 4-5) and Lady Buffs (19-3, 8-1) both used the three ball to its advantage. In the first half, TWU made seven of 10 three-pointers to take a 36-33 lead into intermission. WTAMU hit five of eight in the final 20 minutes en route to the win.
“I thought we defended them well in the first half. That is because we shot the ball decently from the three-point line. In the second half, we didn’t execute or shoot well so our defensive intensity suffered,” head coach Rene Hanebutt said. “We have struggled with that all year. We didn’t play nearly as hard defensively as we needed to. It is frustrating that we can’t play hard when we need to the most.”
The game went back and forth including 10 lead changes in the first half. TWU went ahead 34-33 on an Ashley Browning jumper with 51 seconds on the clock. Maggy Deweber hit another jumper as the horn sounded sending the Pioneers into halftime with a three-point advantage.
The Lady Buffs controlled the second half. WTAMU took the lead 43-41 at the 16:03 mark and never looked back.
“Going against a 6-5 post player (Alicia Saunders) hurts you. We got around the pressure but would miss the shots,” Hanebutt added. “We missed a lot of easy shots. We got fouled and went to the line but should have converted. That happened over and over, putting us on our heels.”
Defense was at a premium in the first 20 minutes limiting the two leading scorers in the conference to single digits. TWU held Emily Brister to seven points on 4 of 11 shooting. WTAMU allowed Margaret Wimbish just three points on with one field goal in six attempts.
Wimbish posted her eighth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds, well below her average of 19.2 points per contest. Brister finished with 15 points, seven below her usual of 22 points per game.
Courtney Colmer led TWU with a game-high 22 points. She was six of 12 from the field and seven of eight at the free throw line. Deweber added nine points. Kristal Robeson and Browning each contributed eight points.
The Pioneers continue its four-game homestand with a league match-up with Eastern New Mexico on Feb. 11 at 2:00 p.m.
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