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Life > Athletics > Basketball > 2/16/08
STRONG SECOND HALF PUSHES PIONEERS PAST TEXANNS 65-51
Box Score
 DENTON, Texas (February 16) – After trailing by as many as thirteen points in the first half, the Texas Woman’s University Pioneers outscored the Tarleton State University TexAnns 38-22 in the final twenty minutes of play to claim a comfortable 65-51 Lone Star Conference South Division win on Saturday night at Kitty Magee Arena in Denton.
In the opening fifteen minutes of the game, is appeared as if Tarleton State was going to cruise to the easy victory. A jumper by TSU junior forward Jamie Ansley put the visiting TexAnns in front 29-16 with just 4:53 to play before halftime. The bucket by Ansley, however, was the last basket that TWU would allow in the half. The Pioneers closed the half with an 11-0 run to trim the TSU advantage to just two, 29-27, when the halftime buzzer sounded.
TWU continued their impressive play to start the second half, piecing together another 12-2 surge to move in front 39-31 with 13:07 to play in the game.
“That turned the tide right there,” said TWU head coach Beth Jillson. “We outscored them 23-2 over an eleven minute span between the end of the first half and the start of the second half. We picked up our intensity on defense and started to execute better on the offensive end of the court. Our guards - specifically Keshia Bolds and Tia Dixon - did an excellent job of pushing the pace of the game and that helped us get a bunch of easy baskets.”
The TexAnns would try and respond to the Pioneer rally, cutting the TWU lead to just five, 43-38, on a traditional three-point play by sophomore center JoAnne Jones just before the midway point of the final half. That was as close as TSU would get, as the Pioneers came back with another 7-0 push to put the game out of reach.
“I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that was the best second half we’ve played all season long,” explained Jillson. “Once we took the lead, we just didn’t let up. We stayed focused, we stayed aggressive, and because of that we beat a pretty darn good basketball team.”
Junior post Renee Renz finished with game-highs of 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Pioneers. It was the fourth double-double for Renz in her last five games played. TWU senior forward Savannah Thompson (pictured above) scored 12 of her 16 points in the game after halftime while Jessica Durr, the Pioneers’ standout sophomore guard, chipped in with seven second half points of her own.
Junior forward Krystal Cole was the high scorer in the loss for TSU with 16 points. Jones and Ansley totaled 13 and 12 points respectively for the TexAnns.
With their third straight win on their home court, the Pioneers raised their season record to 9-14 and their mark in LSC South play to 4-6. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the TexAnns (16-7, 7-3 LSC South).
TWU will be back on the hardwood next Thursday, February 21, when they host another LSC South team, the Eastern New Mexico University Zias, at 7:00 p.m. in Kitty Magee Arena.
NOTE: Saturday's contest was "Think Pink" Night at Kitty Magee Arena to help raise awareness in the fight against breast cancer. Before the game and during halftime, the Pioneer players warmed up in pink shirts (pictured below). The TWU coaching staff, game management staff, and event staff also wore pink. The TWU and TSU players adorned themselves with pink ribbon tatoos and also used pink shoelaces. Following the game, the Pioneer players collected close to $170.00 in donations from fans exiting the arena. All of the donated money will go directly to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
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