Hobbs, NM----The University of the Southwest Women's Basketball Team dropped a heartbreaker on Thursday night against conference foe Huston-Tillotson Rams by the score of 60-59. This loss puts the Lady Mustangs record at 3-7 overall and 0-3 in conference play.
"The girls played hard. I was really proud of the ladies and I think we surprised them. Some simple execution down the stretch; free throws and not boxing out the free throw line is what cost us this game. We're in a process of getting these girls to learn how to win; they don't know how to win and haven't won very much here before. We have to continue to work and grind and I have to continue to teach them and keep their spirits high. Eventually these games will turn in favor of us. I'm just proud of them for hanging in there against a team like that and giving us a chance to win a game like that." Coach Hitchcock had to say following the game.
USW jumped out to an early 8-0 lead thanks to some suffocating defense on the part of the Lady Mustangs.
Catarina Garcia &
Aaliyah Wheatfall both had steals in the first 2 minutes and USW forced 5 Ram turnovers in the first 5 minutes of the ballgame. But Huston-Tillotson stormed back after a slow start and finished the 1
stquarter by going on a 13-4 run. The Mustangs shot 7-14 in the 1
stquarter and held the Rams to 5/14 shooting from the field.
The 2
ndquarter was close the entire way as the Rams won the quarter 16-15, but the Lady Mustangs went into the locker room with a halftime lead once again. At the half, USW was shooting 38.7% compared to the Rams shooting 33.3%. The high scorer for USW at the half was
Aaliyah Wheatfall who had 10 points. The 3
rdquarter was another close quarter as the score at the end was 47-45 and that close play continued into the final quarter of the game.
The final 10 minutes of the contest seemed more like a heavyweight title fight with the way the Mustangs and Rams were trading blows. The Mustangs took the largest lead of the quarter by going up by 4 with 4:35 remaining following a
Harlei Haceesa basket in the paint.
But the Rams reclaimed the lead with 23 seconds to go, following 2 missed free throws by Wheatfall with 25 seconds to go. With 7 seconds to go and the game tied, Huston-Tillotson Senior Forward Korie Pichon went to the free-throw line with the game on the line. Pichon made the 1
st but missed the second. Following the missed free-throw,
Harlei Haceesa rebounded the ball and passed to Senior
Aaliyah Wheatfall as she drove down the court. Wheatfall drove the lane down 1, but Huston-Tillotson Freshman Guard Ilana Stanford stripped the ball from Wheatfall ending the game. The great defensive contest had ended with a great defensive play with the fortune going to the side of the Rams.
Coach Hitchcock had this to say about what this game means to the program and what the future holds "This is a great confidence booster for us. We competed with Paul Quinn (Preseason #6) and Huston-Tillotson (Preseason #4) and put ourselves in good positions to win those games. We've had a lead at the half the last 5 games and only won 1 game. I have to do a better job of making sure the girls are executing properly and focusing. I think we will see the benefits of this loss down the road."
The Mustangs won the shooting battle by shooting 40.7% (24/59) compared to the Rams 33.9% (21/61) and the rebounding battle outrebounding the Rams 44-40.
Aaliyah Wheatfall had a game-high 16 points and
Naomi Solsberry grabbed 10 rebounds.
The Mustangs are back on Saturday afternoon as they take on St. Thomas-Houston Celts (2-5 overall, 0-2 conference) in another conference matchup at 2:00 pm at 'The Dox'.
