Before the UPTB women’s basketball team could take the court against Texas A&M International, they needed to get in their shots.
From a doctor.
Returning from a trip to Denver with cases of the flu and strep throat, the Falcons had to get healthy before taking on the Dustdevils.
That meant head coach Rae Boothe was only able to hold a pair of walkthroughs to get ready for Thursday’s Lone Star Conference opener.
Then, she watched her players gut out a 74-68 victory at the Falcon Dome.
“I’m so proud of them,” Boothe said. “Every single player came back from Denver sick.
“We weren’t able to practice and had a walkthrough yesterday (Wednesday) and another one today.”
Andreea Mancha led UTPB (4-2 overall, 1-0 in conference) with a game-high 18 points, with Morgan Helgesen finishing with 15.
Holly Hemmeline had 14 and Kamari Portalis finished with 13.
Mancha and Helgesen combined to go 20-20 from the free throw line, including a 14-for-14 performance in the fourth quarter as the Falcons did everything they could to hold the Dustdevils (4-2, 0-1) at bay.
Marija Bakic had 13 points to lead the Dustdevils, with Emily Swiercz finishing with 12 and Raiana Brown 10 in the loss.
It was a slow start to the contest as the teams combined for six points through the first 4:40 of the contest, with the Dustdevils holding a 4-2 lead.
The Falcon went on a mini-run to take a 7-6 lead when Hemmeline connected on a 3-pointer.
That just spurred Texas A&M International to start a 12-1 run of its own that lasted the rest of the first quarter.
UTPB erased the deficit before the midway point of the second quarter with a 3-pointer by Mancha, a pair of free throws by Helgesen and a layup from Khiara Flugence.
Another layup by Flugence put the Falcons back in front for the first time since Hemmeline’s first-quarter 3-pointer.
UTPB eventually pushed its lead to nine (29-20) on another Hemmeline long-distance connection with 2:21 remaining in the first half.
Texas A&M International finished the half on a 7-0 run to close the gap at halftime.
After the break, Portalis made her presence known with back-to-back 3-pointers, a conventional three-point play and then another field goal as UTPB moved out to a 54-44 lead after 30 minutes.
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UTPB 74, Texas A&M International 68
TAMI (4-2 overall, 0-1 Lone Star)
Clara Fernandez 4-10 0-0 8, Raiana Brown 4-6 2-2 10, Evelyn Quiroz 2-4 0-0 6, Marija Bakic 2-5 8-8 13, Emily Swiercz 5-12 0-0 12, Angelique Morgan 3-6 0-0 6, Silvia Blanco 3-3 0-0 7, Meli Hornedo 1-4 0-0 3, MiLinda Arguellez 0-0 0-0 0, Barbara Turkalj 1-4 0-2 3, Madison Ansari 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-54 10-12 68.
UTPB (4-3, 1-0)
Morgan Helgesen 2-7 10-10 15, Alexus Quaadman 1-2 2-4 4, Andreea Mancha 3-9 10-1 18, Avalon Munoz 1-5 2-4 4, Holly Hemmeline 5-14 4-13 14, Kamari Portalis 5-9 1-1 13, Makayla Bingley 0-0 0-0 0, Ally Haman 0-2 0-0 0, Naomi Pierce 0-2 0-0 0, Khiara Flugence 3-4 0-0 6, Marisa Seaton 0-0 0-0 0, Aunbrielle Green 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-54 25-29 74.
Texas A&M Intl……. 18 — 9 — 17 — 24 — 68
UTPB………………….11 — 18 — 25 — 20 — 72
3-Point goals — TAMI 8-25 (Fernandez 0-4, Quiroz 2-4, Bakic 1-1, Swiercz 2-8, Blanco 1-1, Hornedo 1-4, Turkalj 1-3), UTPB 9-27 (Helgesen 1-4, Mancha 2-3, Munoz 0-2, Hemmeline 4-13, Portalis 2-3, Haman 0-2). Total fouls — TAMI 27, UTPB 15. Fouled out — TAMI (Quiroz, Swiercz). Technical fouls — None Rebounds — TAMI 41 (Fernandez 10), UTPB 26 (Quaadman 8). Assists — TAMI 13 (Turkalj 3), UTPB 11 (Mancha 5).
