UTPB women's basketball kicked its Heartland Conference season Thursday night with a 66-53 road victory against Oklahoma Christian in Oklahoma City, Okla.

The Falcons rode a big run coming out of halftime in earning the 13-point victory. Trailing 33-32 at halftime, UTPB scored the first 11 points of the second half. Shaquiri Graham brought the Falcons back into the lead with a pair of baskets to start the half and Valerie Barriga scored five straight points as UTPB went back to a 43-33 lead.

UTPB never led by fewer than seven points through the rest of the second half as the Falcons held Oklahoma Christian to 26 percent shooting and forced nine turnovers after halftime.

Barriga led UTPB with 16 points on the evening. Giselle Loya hit four from 3-point range on the game to add 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Graham contributed 10 points on the day while Keyondra White scored nine with four assists.

McKenzie Stanford had a game-best 18 points for Oklahoma Christian.

UTPB is back in action on the road Saturday afternoon, traveling to Wichita, Kan., for an afternoon contest at Newman.