College basketball: Lady Falcons win tourney opener
SAN ANTONIO Maybe it’s time to come up with a catchy nickname for UTPB’s pair of lightning-quick guards.
Sparked by Tammy Acosta and Miesha Blackshear, the Lady Falcons blew past Texas A&M International 79-68 in the quarterfinals of the Heartland Conference Tournament Thursday afternoon.
Acosta, a sophomore point guard who was named Heartland Conference Co-Player of the Year with Incarnate Word’s Nia Torru, poured in a season-high 30 points, and Blackshear, the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year, scored 17 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out seven assists and made four steals.
Led by the Wonder Twins, the third-seeded Lady Falcons (16-12) will take on second-seeded St. Mary’s (20-7) — the host team — at 2:30 p.m. today.
UTPB 79, Texas A&M International 68
Quarterfinals
Heartland Conference Tournament
St. Mary’s Bill Greehey Arena, San Antonio
TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL (5-23)
Christian Tristan 2-6 0-2 4, Mary Tobias, 5-9 0-0 14, Johna Williams 11-17 7-9 29, Jenny Mendez 0-1 0-0 0, Linda Banuelos 3-11 2-5 8, Kiandra Metoyer 2-6 2-3 6, Valencia Roy 2-5 0-0 4, Courtney Dixon 0-2 0-0 0, Latreshe Jones 1-7 0-0 3. Totals 26-64 9-14 68.
UTPB (16-12)
Miesha Blackshear 6-11 5-7 17, Christina Lira 0-1 0-0 0, Callie Norris 3-7 2-2 10, Andrea Chavez 5-13 5-6 16, Tammy Acosta 11-18 4-5 30, Micaela Jackson 0-0 1-2 1, Taja Tanner 1-6 0-0 2, Lauren Unger 1-2 0-0 3, Simone Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Pasha Cornish 0-5 0-0 0, Domonique Haywood 0-1 0-0. Totals 27-64 17-22 79.
Halftime — UTPB 46, Texas A&M International 40. 3-Point goals — Texas A&M International 7-14 (Mary Tobias 4-6, Linda Banuelos 2-5, Latreshe Jones 1-1, Christian Tristan 0-1, Kiandra Metoyer 0-1), UTPB 8-21 (Tammy Acosta 4-8, Callie Norris 2-4, Andrea Chavez 1-6, Lauren Unger 1-2, Miesha Blackshear 0-1). Total fouls — Texas A&M International 18, UTPB 17. Fouled out — None. Technical fouls — Texas A&M International: Bench. Rebounds — Texas A&M International 35 (Johnna Williams 14), UTPB 42 (Miesha Blackshear 10). Assists — Texas A&M International 18 (Kiandra Metoyer 4, Mary Tobias 4), UTPB 13 (Miesha Blackshear 7).
