box score
The University of Texas of the Permian Basin had four players score in double-figures with
Miesha Blackshear leading the way with 18 points as the Falcons took a 73-60 win over St. Mary's to take over the lead in the Heartland Conference.
The Falcons took advantage of 29 turnovers by the Rattlers which led to 35 points in favor of the Falcons, who tallied 12 steals on the day led by
Tammy Acosta's four. UTPB also dominated the glass, out-rebounding St. Mary's 41-29, 20 of which came on the offensive end which led to 13 second-chance points.
UTPB, now at 16-5 overall and 5-1 in league play, hold a half-game lead over Newman who sits at 4-1 on the year. Earlier this year, St. Mary's took an 86-85 win over UTPB and now find themselves a full game behind the Falcons. Newman defeated St. Mary's and lost to UTPB earlier this season.
The Falcons led by as many as 25 (64-39) with less than 10 minutes to play in the second half, but scored just three points on free throws over the next four minutes. The Rattlers took advantage of the shooting drought, cutting the lead to 67-51 with 4:13 to go. St. Mary's would pull as close as 11 with 1:55 to go after Nicole James drained a three-pointer, but it would not get any closer the rest of the way.
The teams opened the game exchanging buckets until the Falcons used a 12-4 run after trailing 9-8 to take a 20-13 lead with 10:32 to go in the first half. They would keep the lead rest of the way. St. Mary's pulled within two (22-20) with just under eight minutes to play, but an 11-2 run gave the Falcons a commanding 33-22 lead with 4:32 to go before the break. They would eventually take a 39-26 halftime advantage.
The offensive onslaught would continue for UTPB as it extended its lead to 45-29 with just under three minutes played in the second half and would keep it above double-digits the rest of the way.
UTPB will remain at home on Saturday when it hosts Texas A&M International at 2 p.m. in the Falcon Dome. UTPB won the first meeting 83-71 in Laredo earlier this season.
