Needing a win to keep their Lone Star Conference postseason hopes alive, it was one of the most veteran players on UT Permian Basin Women's Basketball who stepped their game up on Thursday.
Rory Carter was 4-of-7 from deep and tied a career high with 18 points as the Falcons pulled away in the fourth quarter for the 75-61 win at Oklahoma Christian. The win is the third in the last four games for the Falcons.
Carter and the Falcons came out of the gate on fire. The Eagles jumped out to an early five-point lead, but the Falcons quickly responded.
Ogechi Nwodo and
Alexus Wykoff made layups while Carter buried a three as the Falcons took the lead. Carter knocked down a pair of free throws before
Holly Hemmeline connected on a three. Nwodo hit another bucket and tied the game at the end of the quarter.
Morgan Helgesen opened the quarter with a five-point run of her own. The Eagles responded and cut the Falcon lead to two, before the Falcons went on a run to pull away.
Alexis Popham made three free throws before Carter connected again from long range to push the lead to eight. The Eagles would not go away, trimming the lead to one before Helgesen knocked down a three to end the half with the Falcons ahead 41-37.
It was the Eagles that started hot out of the locker rooms and took a three-point lead. Helgesen put the Falcons back in front with another three later in the quarter. The Falcons pushed the lead further thanks to a Munoz three and a layup by Kamari Potalis. Once again though the Eagles responded with a run to close the quarter and tied things at 57 after 30 minutes.
The fourth was all Falcons as the defense suffocated the Eagle offense, holding them to just 4 points in the quarter and 1-of-13 shooting from the field.
Helgesen had a big night finishing with 15 points and five rebounds. Wykoff added 10 points off the bench. The Falcon bench contributed 35 points as opposed to just two from the Eagles. Nwodo was a dominant force on the boards, finishing with 14 to tie a career high.
The Falcons look for their third win in a row Saturday at Arkansas Fort Smith. Download the UTPB Athletics App for the latest news on your favorite Falcon teams.
