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Life > Athletics > Basketball >12/21/06
SECOND HALF SURGE HELPS TWU TOP TAMUK 76-62
DENTON, Texas (Dec. 21) – A strong second half performance helped the Texas Woman’s University Pioneers defeat the Texas A&M University-Kingsville Javelinas 76-62 on Thursday night at Kitty Magee Arena in Denton, Texas.
In the early stages of the game, it appeared as if TWU was going to roll to an easy victory. Hot shooting - TWU converted four three-point baskets - helped the Pioneers jump out to a 28-13 lead midway through the first half. The visiting Javelinas, however, would claw their way back into things. TAMUK went on a 20-7 run to end the first half, and, at halftime, the Pioneers lead was just two points at 35-33.
A three-point shot by freshman guard Dyana Bullinger to start the second half would give TAMUK their first (and only) lead of the game, 36-35. Faced with a deficit for the first time in the contest, TWU would respond. Defensively, the Pioneers went to a zone that slowed down the Javelinas attack. Offensively, TWU took the ball inside, and repeated scores by the Pioneers frontcourt trio of Margaret Wimbish, Savannah Thompson and Chelsea Cook sparked a 20-6 TWU streak that gave the home team a commanding 58-44 advantage with just over 8:00 to play.
The Javelinas (2-8, 0-2 in the LSC South) had no answer down the stretch, and TWU (6-4, 2-0 in the LSC South) steadily pulled away for the comfortable sixteen point conference win.
With 22 points, Wimbish was the high scorer in the game for TWU. The senior post player for Corpus Christi, Texas also grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds and dished out three assists. Cook and Thompson finished with 13 points apiece for the Pioneers.
The victory by the Pioneers was their third in a row, and second consecutive over the Javelinas. TWU defeated TAMUK 72-47 last Saturday night, Dec. 16, in Kingsville.
TWU head coach Rene Hanebutt said the key to her team’s second half surge was on the defensive end of the court.
“I felt that our zone defense was the difference tonight. This was the first time that we played a zone for any length of time this season. The group that was out there (when we made our run) did an excellent job of communicating and running the zone effectively,” she explained.
Junior forward Lana Toki tallied a team-high 14 points in the loss for TAMUK. Bullinger and senior forward Angela Trotter totaled 12 points apiece for the Javelinas.
After a brief break for the Christmas holiday, TWU will be back in action next weekend with two games at the Metro State College Classic in Denver, Colorado. On Friday, December 29, the Pioneers will play Metro State at 3:00 p.m. Then, on Saturday, December 30, TWU will take on Adams State University.
For additional information, please contact the TWU Sports Information office at (940) 898-2373.
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