Box Score
Teisha King scored 11 of The University of Texas of the Permian Basin's 12 overtime points, hitting 3-of-4 field goal attempts and making four free throws on her way to scoring a career-high 40 points as the Falcons picked up an 82-79 overtime victory over #21 Tarleton State to improve to 4-0 on the season and remain undefeated.
UTPB and Tarleton State alternated scoring in the game's final few minutes, with the Falcons scoring to even the score five times in the final 3:05.
King brought the game to 68-68 with a jumper behind the free throw line with 37 seconds to play, but the TexAnns fought back once more to score a layup and lead 70-68.
Taniqua Ards gave the Falcons life with five seconds left in regulation, hitting a pull up jumper in the paint to knot the score at 70-70, and she kept TSU from having any chance on the other end of the court, blocking a shot attempt on the baseline and grabbing the rebound as time in the second half expired to send the game into an extra session.
The Falcons started off slow in OT, giving up the first four points on a 3-pointer and a free throw following a turnover. King needed little time to pull UTPB back ahead, hitting her second three of the game to pull within one at 3:13. She finished a steal by Briannah Matthews to give the Falcons a 75-74 lead, and converted after forcing another turnover to make it a three point game with just over two minutes remaining.
Peyton Adamson hit a jumper on TSU's next possession and went to the line after being fouled on the attempt, where she sank the free throw to tie the game again at 77-77.
King was fouled on UTPB's next trip down the court, where she hit both attempts from the line to give the Falcons back the lead at 79-77.
King hit another free throw with 17 seconds remaining to make it a three point game, and the Falcons put the game away at the free throw line. Nash made it a two-possession game by hitting the back end of a pair with 12 seconds remaining, and King followed suit with another made free throw with seven seconds left to lead 82-77.
UTPB built an early lead at the beginning of the game as LaChrista Nash hit a 3-pointer for the contests first points on the Falcons fourth shot of their first possession. A layup from King and shot from Zeslie Johnson increased the UTPB advantage out to 7-0 just over two minutes into the game.
Tarleton State went on a run of its own, scoring 10 in a row over the next two minutes as the TexAnns held the lead for much of the first and went into halftime leading 38-34.
An eight point UTPB run in the early minutes of the second half brought the game back to even, as Giselle Loya hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Ards hit a layup with 15:22 left in the second half to tie the game at 44-44. The Falcons took their first lead after halftime on another Loya 3-pointer, and led by as many as six points three different times in the remainder of the half.
King's 40 points on 14-30 shooting from the field with 10 made free throws were the most for UTPB in over four seasons, coming one short of Crystal Johnson's 41 points against Incarnate Word on Feb. 28, 2008. She also grabbed a team-best 12 rebounds as the Falcons held a 42-36 advantage on the glass.
Ards added 14 points while blocking three shots on the night, and Nash scored 11 on 4-5 shooting with three steals.
Cheyenne Berry scored 20 for Tarleton State, sinking all eight of her free throw attempts as TSU went 22-24 at the free throw line for the game. Adamson was 3-6 behind the arc while scoring 17 and Kiara Wright double-doubled with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The Falcons are back in action after Thanksgiving, playing Washburn and Ft. Hays State at the Topeka Capitol Plaza Thanksgiving Classic in Topeka, Kan., Friday and Saturday.
