HOBBS, NM---The USW Lady Mustang Basketball Program took on two conference opponents this past weekend at the Maddox Student Life Center. The Mustangs split the weekend by defeating Texas College by the score of 80-78 & losing to Paul Quinn College by the score of 63-45. The contests bring the Lady Mustangs record to 6-12 with a 3-8 record in the Red River Athletic Conference. 
 
USW 80---Texas College 78
 
Thursday night's contest was a battle between both teams until the very end. The Steers took an early lead after the 1^st quarter which saw a Mustang offense that was failing to capitalize on several open looks from the field. But the 2^ndquarter was a different story as the Mustang offense exploded for 28 points on 17-33 shooting from the field. Naomi Solsberry lead the Mustangs that quarter with 9 points. The Mustangs went into the locker room at half with a 39-31 lead. 
 
The 2^nd half was back and forth for the most part, as the Steers outscored USW 47-41 overall, but USW was hanging on tight for the win down the stretch. "I told the ladies to box out and take care of the basketball. I felt like we were a little hurried and we needed to score with a big lead like that. We were playing 'havoc basketball', they were playing all crazy for a bit there." Coach Hitchcock had to say of the final few minutes down the stretch. 
 
Senior guard Catarina Garcia was the high scorer for the Lady Mustangs as she scored 24 points on 6-7 shooting. Garcia also dished out 8 assists, shot 9-10 from the free-throw line, had 2 steals and 5 rebounds. "She is a great floor general for us and she stepped up huge. She facilitates, she can knock down some shots, she can score, she can do a little bit of everything. She's a great captain for us, she's a great senior leader for us and not too many teams are lucky enough to have a little guard like her that can play" Coach Hitchcock had to say about his senior guard and what she displays on the court. 
 
The Lady Mustangs had 3 others in double-figures: Naomi Solsberry (14 points, 3 rebounds 4 assists) Meredith Keasler (10 points, 8 rebounds and 1 assist) & Mykal Thomas (14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists). 
 
 
Paul Quinn College 63---USW 45
 
Saturday afternoon for the Lady Mustangs turned out to be one of their worst shooting days of the season. USW was held to only 45 points which is a conference season-low and the 2^nd lowest point total of the season (38 points on 11/3/2018 against Wayland Baptist). 
 
USW had the lead entering the half by the score of 28-24, but when they came out of the locker room, they never saw the lead again. Paul Quinn would outscore the Lady Mustangs 22-8 in the 3^rd quarter and would continue their dominance in the 4^th by outscoring USW 17-9. 
 
The Lady Mustangs shot only .310% for the game and were 1-9 from 3-pt range. The high scorer for USW was forward Mykal Thomas who had 11 points and 3 rebounds & Naomi Solsberry contributed 10 points and 3 rebounds. 
 
The Lady Mustangs are back in action this week as they take to the road as they face off with Huston-Tillotson on Thursday & St. Thomas on Saturday. The Lady Mustangs are looking to avenge early conference losses to both programs as HT won the first battle 60-59 & St. Thomas won 75-58.