ODESSA, Texas (November 14, 2025) – UT Permian Basin women's basketball started with a bang Friday night as three players scored in double figures and another nearly recorded a double-double in its season opening 66-53 win over MSU Denver.
Mikalah Buckley, one of UTPB's two returners to the roster this year, led all players with 15 points while
Kenadi Rising and
Jasmin Holt added 14 and 11 points, respectively, in their Falcon debuts.
Rising was 7-for-11 from the field and Holt was 6-for-6 at the free throw line. In addition,
Arial Ford was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field while scoring nine points and pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds.
UTPB's advantage in the first half was offensive rebounds, a category it led 7-1 in the first quarter and 11-4 at halftime.
Offensive rebounds would finish as a 16-9 advantage for the Falcons, who got three offensive boards apiece from Buckley and
Ja'Nya Thomas.
Thanks to a strong defensive effort, the Falcons outscored the Roadrunners 17-10 in the second quarter.
UTPB took advantage of three paint jumpers by Rising (2) and Holt (1) in the first three minutes of the third quarter to begin to pull away up 39-32.
Then in the fourth quarter, another midrange jumper in the paint by Rising made it a 13-point game (58-43) with five and a half minutes to go.
UTPB held Metro State to just 3-for-14 shooting (21.43 percent) in both of the second and fourth quarters, and kept them to 33.3 percent for the game.
UTPB is 5-4 in season openers under Head Coach
Rae Boothe, and has now won each of its last four season openers by a margin of at least 10 points.
Next up, UTPB will conclude the D2 Conference Challenge against No. 21 nationally-ranked Colorado Mesa University at 12 p.m. on Sunday, November 16. Colorado Mesa defeated UTPB by just three points, 79-76, during the conference challenge in Odessa last season, and is 3-1 so far this season falling 85-70 at West Texas A&M University, the top team in the receiving votes section of the WBCA Preseason coaches poll, earlier on Friday.
