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TWU
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DOMINANT DEFENSIVE EFFORT PUSHES PIONEERS PAST RIVERHAWKS 59-51
Box Score
 TAHLEQUAH, Oklahoma (January 12) – The Texas Woman’s University Pioneers played their best defensive game of the season against Northeastern State University on Saturday afternoon at Jack Dobbins Fieldhouse in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Consequently, the Pioneers came away with one of their best wins of the season, upending the RiverHawks 59-51 in a Lone Star Conference crossover matchup.
TWU established two defensive season superlatives in the game - fewest points allowed (51), and lowest opposition field goal percentage (33.9%).
“Those two stats tell the story,” said TWU head coach Beth Jillson. “That was easily the best we’ve looked on the defensive end of the court all season long. We finally played defense the way we are capable of, and, as a result, we picked up an impressive win.”
Jillson specifically credited the Pioneers’ full court press with disrupting the NSU offense.
“We extended our defense a little bit today and played a 2-2-1 press for most of the game. I thought that worked out pretty well because it forced them to burn time off the shot clock. By the time they set up in their offense, they were already down to 10 or 15 seconds on the clock,” she explained.
The excellent defensive execution sparked the Pioneers on offense. TWU scored 17 points off NSU turnovers, 13 of those coming in the first half when they set the tone for the game.
“I thought that was important,” said Jillson. “We forced them to make a few mistakes and then, more importantly, we took advantage of those mistakes.”
Sophomore guard Jessica Durr was the high-scorer in the game for TWU with 17 points. Junior post player Renee Renz (pictured) was effective as well for the Pioneers, scoring 14 points and grabbing a game-high nine rebounds. Freshman guard Tia Dixon and sophomore post Chelsea Cook added nine points apiece to the TWU cause.
Senior center Veressa Gaston was one of the few RiverHawks players to have any type of offensive success. Gaston led NSU with 14 points on 7-14 shooting.
The win by the Pioneers improves their season record to 5-8. The loss was snapped a four-game winning streak for NSU and sets their season mark at 7-8.
TWU will be back in action on Wednesday, January 16, when they open Lone Star Conference South Division play with a home game versus Abilene Christian University at 7:00 p.m. in Kitty Magee Arena.
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