WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL: First-place Angelo State drops UTPB

Rae Boothe said it’s a bit like hearing a broken record.

The UTPB women’s basketball team kept pace for a spell, but fell behind and saw problems compound against the first-place team in the Lone Star Conference on Thursday night, as visiting Angelo State cruised to an 83-61 victory in the Falcon Dome.

The Falcons trailed by just one score at 21-19 at the end of the first quarter, but the Belles pulled away from there to capture their 11th consecutive victory — and drop UTPB to a familiar, sixth straight loss.

“Unfortunately, we continued to play the way that we have been playing, and it’s pretty inconsistent throughout the course of the game,” Boothe, the Falcons’ first-year head coach, said later Thursday after the game.

Angelo State point guard Marquita Daniels scored a game-high 29 points for the Belles, who pushed to 19-4 overall on the season and 14-3 in the conference.

UTPB hit 46.7 percent of its shots in the first quarter to keep pace with the Belles, but starting in the second, Angelo State started to put the clamps down on defense, befuddling the Falcons with takeaways in the backcourt and near midcourt and converting on the other end.

Angelo State scored 20 points off turnovers in the first half alone, on the way to that 41-28 advantage at the break.

The Belles finished with 33 points off turnovers, picking up 14 steals while forcing 25 UTPB turnovers.

“There were spurts, like there have been every game, and then there were times where we just really didn’t execute and didn’t get stops,” Boothe said.

“It’s kind of like the same, broken record that it’s been with this group for a couple months now; Good parts, and then terrible parts, and the score is reflective of how much we do well,” she added.

Sitting ninth in the Lone Star standings, the Falcons will need to win their last three games, and hope eighth-place Texas Woman’s loses each of its last three, in order for UTPB to earn a Lone Star Conference tournament berth.

But first, the Falcons will look to make Saturday a sweet Senior Day for six seniors on the roster.

“Senior Day is always special, and this is a large group,” Boothe said. “My hope for them is that they go out the way they want to end their career. I want them to get a win, and I want them to be able to enjoy the last time they step on the court for a game here.”

Those seniors stuck with the program after a summer coaching change, and Boothe said they’ve contributed to laying a foundation for the future at UTPB. The Falcons fell to 6-19, 4-13 on Thursday, but in helping to establish Boothe’s new system, she thinks those seniors have achieved plenty this season.

“The record does not indicate what they’ve accomplished this year,” Boothe said. “I hope they’re pretty proud of what they are going to be leaving, and their time that they’ve spent here.

“My hope for them is that they leave this program better than they found it, and I’m pretty confident that each one of them has done just that,” she added.

Angelo State 83, UTPB 61

ANGELO STATE (19-4 overall, 14-3 Lone Star)

Keanna Kelly 4-13 4-6, 14, Marquita Daniels 11-18 5-6 29, Ekiya Gray 3-4 3-5 10, Dezirae Hampton 1-9 0-0 2, De’Anira Moore 3-6 2-4 8, Mikayla Blount 4-11 0-0 12, Kynese Davis 1-4 1-3 3, Dearria Watson 0-0 2-2 2, Madi Greenwood 1-2 1-2 3, Aaliyah Warren 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-67 18-27 83.

UTPB (6-19, 4-13)

Victoria Lopez 3-6 2-4 10, Sierra LaGrande 6-9 1-2 19, Kayla Bretherton 2-11 0-0 4, Khali Pippins-Tryon 4-9 0-0 10, Kristel Reid 0-5 0-0 0, Jackie Perez 1-5 0-0 3, Nakedra Burke 2-3 0-0 4, Alexandria Dockery 0-0 0-0 0, Heather Crittenden 0-2 0-0 0, Brittani McCoy 0-0 0-0 0, Jasmine Spriggins 4-9 0-0 11. Totals 22-59 3-6 61.

Angelo State………… 21.. 20   23   19   —    83

UTPB………………….. 19…. 9   11   22   —    61

3-Point goals — Angelo State 9-31 (Blount 4, Kelly 2, Daniels 2, Gray 1); UTPB 14-27 (LaGrande 6, Spriggins 3, Lopez 2, Pippins-Tryon 2, Perez 1). Total fouls — Angelo State 11, UTPB 21. Fouled out — None. Technical fouls — None. Rebounds — Angelo State: 48 (Gray 14); UTPB: 35 (Three tied with 5). Assists — Angelo State 14 (Gray 4); UTPB 15 (LaGrande 4).

Lone Star Conference Standings

                                          Overall    Conference

Team                                 W      L      W        L

Angelo State……………….. 19      4      14        3

West Texas A&M…………. 21      4      13        4

Texas A&M-Commerce… 17      9      13        5

Tarleton State……………… 17      8      11        6

Eastern New Mexico…….. 15      9      11        6

Midwestern State…………. 12    11        9        8

Cameron…………………….. 11    14        9        8

Texas Woman’s…………….. 9    14        6      11

UTPB……………………………. 6    19        4      13

Texas A&M-Kingsville……. 6    19        3      14

Western New Mexico……… 1    24        1      16

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Feb. 15

West Texas A&M 74, Texas A&M-Kingsville 58

Angelo State 83, UTPB 61

Cameron 67, Western New Mexico 55

Eastern New Mexico 81, Midwestern State 66

Texas A&M-Commerce 68, Texas Woman’s 57

Feb. 17

Texas Woman’s at Tarleton State, 2 p.m.

Angelo State at West Texas A&M, 2 p.m.

Texas A&M-Kingsville at UTPB, 2 p.m.

Midwestern State at Western New Mexico, 3 p.m.

Cameron at Eastern New Mexico, 3 p.m.