ODESSA, Texas (February 22, 2025) – Playing against the No. 1 nationally-ranked team in all of NCAA Division II for its Senior Day, The University of Texas Permian basin women's basketball team hung tough until the end and fell 62-56 against Texas Women's University on Saturday inside the Falcon Dome.

It was Senior Day for Morgan Helgesen, Avalon Munoz, Diavian Spencer and Taysha Rushton.

Helping keep UTPB in the game in the first two and a half quarters was Rushton, who finished the contest with 23 points after shooting 12-for-13 from the free throw line.

Rushton would score 20 points within the first 24 minutes of the game. It was her seventh game in a row with 21 or more points. In addition, Rushton has gone a combined 23-for-25 from the free throw line over the last two games.

After it was Helgesen who backed up Rushton in the scoring column on Thursday night against No. 6-ranked The University of Texas at Tyler, today it was Khiara Flugence who got into double-digits in the scoring column with 12 points and nine rebounds. Helgesen had 17 points and nine boards against the Patriots two days earlier.

Munoz finished with five points, six boards and six assists during her Senior Day while Kamari Portalis provided nine points off the bench.

Despite starting the game with back-to-back steals on the first two possessions by TWU, UTPB also started the game 0-for-8 from the field and 0-for-5 from three and trailed 8-0 until a 3-pointer by Rushton nearly five minutes in.

Then despite the slow start, UTPB held the lead twice in the first quarter, which featured a pair of 3-pointers and another three-point play by Rushton, but the Falcons would go on to suffer a rough second quarter. During an 11-2 run in the first quarter, UTPB would hit three triples; meanwhile, the rest of the game, they would only hit two threes. The Falcons were then outscored by 10 (17-7) in the second quarter and were held to 1-for-10 (10.00 percent) from the field and 0-for-5 from three.

Tied at 20-20 after a jumper by Portalis just over two minutes into the second quarter, TWU went on a 14-0 run and held UTPB scoreless until the final two seconds of the first half when Rushton got fouled shooting a 3-pointer and made all three shots at the line.

UTPB was able to stay in the game after shooting 8-for-8 from the charity stripe in the first half, including a 6-for-6 performance at the line from Rushton, and then early in the second half, a banked in 3-pointer and three more free throws by Rushton pulled the Falcons to within three points (36-33) of the Pioneers, capping a 10-0 run with 6:35 left in the third quarter.

TWU committed four early turnovers in the third quarter to help UTPB claw back into striking distance, and then two free throws by Flugence made it a just a one-point game (41-40) with under three minutes left in the period before a clutch second-chance putback layup by TWU's Kayla Glover. A layup by Flugence would make it a three-point UTPB (45-42) deficit entering the fourth quarter.

The Falcons outscored the Pioneers 19-11 in the third quarter and shot a combined 10-for-11 (90.9 percent) from the free throw line in the period, bringing their total for the game to 18-for-19 (94.7 percent).

After a 3-pointer by Makala Bingley in the opening minute of the fourth quarter made it a three-point game again (48-45), UTPB missed four 3-pointers going for the tie before TWU took back control with a big 3-pointer by Ashley Ingram with six minutes left to play.

Two more layups by Flugence made it 51-47 and 53-50, respectively, but then UTPB was held scoreless for over two minutes trying to cut into the lead even more.

UTPB trailed by seven points (57-50) with two and a half minutes to go, but saw Portalis, Natalie Milwood and Rushton all go 2-for-2 at the free throw line to make it 60-56 with under a minute remaining.

However, an offensive rebound by Ingram with under 20 seconds left served as the backbreaker for the Falcons. Ingram went to the line with eight seconds left and hit both of her shots to put the game out of reach. Ingram recorded her 12th double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds. She is TWU's career leader in both points and rebounds.

UTPB was just 3-for-13 (23.1 percent) from the field and 1-for-8 (12.5 percent) from the field in the fourth quarter, and was 7-for-8 (87.5 percent) from the free throw line. TWU also went 7-for-8 from the line in the final period, with all of its free throw shots coming in the final 2:31 of action to close out the win.

Both teams finished with 16 turnovers while the Falcons outrebounded the Pioneers 13-11 on the offensive glass. The Falcons rank fourth in the Lone Star Conference in team offensive rebounds with 13.1 per game.

In the end, the Falcons finished with their second-highest free throw percentage of the season, going 25-for-27 (92.6 percent) from the stripe.

However, the Falcons' 25.5 overall field goal percentage represented a new season-low for the second game in a row, while their 18.5 percent mark from three was their second-lowest 3-point field goal percentage of the season. The Pioneers currently rank first in the LSC in defense, holding their opponents to just 50.3 points per game and 33.8 percent shooting from the field.

UTPB falls to one game below .500 (13-14) overall on the season, is now 11-10 in the Lone Star Conference, and is now tied for the eighth and final spot in the LSC Tournament with Midwestern State University (13-14, 11-10). TWU (27-1 overall, 20-1 LSC) was recently ranked No. 1 overall on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and the D2CSC Media National Poll. It was the first meeting between UTPB and TWU since the Pioneers' 70-60 win over the Falcons in last season's LSC Tournament Championship game.

The win also marked the Pioneers' 21st straight win of the season, which ties their program record for most consecutive wins. In the win, the Pioneers held the Falcons to 56 points – their third lowest point total of the season. It marked the 20th straight game TWU has held their opponent to 56 or fewer points.

"We had great opportunities in our seven-point loss to No. 6 UT Tyler and our six-point loss to No. 1 TWU this week," spoke UTPB Head Women's Basketball Coach Rae Boothe. "I am proud of our team's focus and determination this week. It just goes to show how truly competitive the LSC is. We are still in the race to make postseason play. Today was special as we celebrated our four seniors. Taysha, Dee, Av and Morgan are amazing and work every day for each other. Words can't express my gratitude for each of them and the love our team has for them. I'm confident that our team will do everything possible to extend our season."

With just one game left in the regular season, UTPB needs a win at Angelo State University (16-11, 12-9) on Thursday, February 27, with tipoff scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
 
Senior Day Recap (Stats Entering Saturday):
Morgan Helgesen has started in 112 of 132 career games in five seasons as a Falcon. She has totaled 990 points, 642 rebounds, 184 assists, 147 steals and 15 blocks over her career, and has averaged 7.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. She is just 10 points away from scoring 1,000 career points. As a junior during the 2023-24 season, she averaged a career-best 8.6 points per game and sank a career-high 49 3-pointers. Last season vs. Angelo State (2/28/24), Helgesen scored a career-high 30 points and set the UTPB single-game record for a 3-point field goal percentage by making seven of her eight 3-pointers (87.5 percent). This season, she is averaging 6.9 points per game, 5.3 rebounds per game and 1.8 assists per game. She currently ranks second on the team with 139 rebounds and is third with 46 assists and 37 made 3-pointers. In the UTPB career record books, Helgesen ranks first all-time in games played (132) and is second in minutes (3,635), second in rebounds (642), fourth in assists (184), fifth in field goals made (341), fifth in 3-pointers made (166), sixth in points (990), seventh in steals (147) and ninth in free throws made (142).

Avalon Munoz has started in 120 of her 131 career games in her five seasons at UTPB, including starting all 26 games this season. In UTPB's 67-57 home win over Angelo State in their LSC opener this season on Saturday, November 23, 2024, Munoz became the Falcons' all-time leader in minutes played with 3,275 minutes at the time. Three weeks ago, with 8:15 to go in the second quarter of UTPB's 68-46 home win over Western New Mexico on Thursday, January 30, 2025, Munoz hit a long two-point jumper to reach the 1,000-career point mark. She has accumulated a total of 1,048 points, 521 rebounds, 510 assists and 268 steals in her career, including career averages of 8.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.0 steals per game. During the 2022-23 season, Munoz scored a career-high 31 points vs. Midwestern State (1/14/23), and then later on that season at Midwestern State, she recorded a triple-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. She would finish that season averaging a career-best 11.2 points, 4.6 assists, 4.5 assists and 2.4 steals per game. This season, she is averaging 7.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game while leading the Falcons with 99 assists and ranking second with 43 steals and 65 made free throws. In addition, she is ranked third in the Lone Star Conference in assists per game and is second in assist/turnover ratio this year.  In the UTPB career record books, Munoz ranks first all-time in minutes played (3,952) and is second in games played (131), second in assists (510), second in steals (268), second in free throws made (376), third in rebounds (521), fourth in points (1,048) and sixth in field goals made (309). Munoz is currently seven steals away from passing the school record of 274 steals and is 27 assists away from the school record of 536 assists.

Diavian Spencer has played in 110 career games in her five seasons as a Falcon. She has accumulated 239 points, 74 rebounds, 51 assists, and 42 steals in her career. She scored a career-high 16 points at Oklahoma Christian (12/08/22) during the 2022-23 season before finishing the year with a career-best average of 4.5 points per game, and this season she scored a season-high 14 points vs. Sul Ross State (2/1/25).

Taysha Rushton has started in 25 of 26 games during her lone season at UTPB. She leads UTPB with 437 points, 145 made field goals, 67 made 3-pointers, 80 made free throws and 45 steals so far this season and is averaging 16.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game as a Falcon. She ranks third in the Lone Star Conference in both total points and points per game and is tied for first in 3-pointers made. She has scored at least 20 points in nine games this season, including in each of the last six games coming into Senior Day. In UTPB's thrilling 87-79 victory over Texas A&M-Kingsville on December 7, 2024, Rushton scored a season-high 38 points and made eight 3-pointers. Rushton's 38 points were the third most in program history, were the most scored in a game since 2012 and were the most ever for UTPB against a Lone Star Conference opponent. For her effort, Rushton was named the Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the week and was named UTPB's Edgardo Madrid & Associates Women's Student-Athlete of the Month for December. In her lone season with the Falcons, she has moved herself into the UTPB record books with single-season rankings of fifth in field goals made (145), sixth in points (437), and ninth in 3-pointers made (67).

Lastly, the UTPB women's basketball team would like to recognize Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer Pallavi Schwarting. Pallavi a native of Placitas, New Mexico, and has worked at UTPB for two years. After graduating with her MBA from UTPB, Pallavi is headed to Utah State University to work with the women's gymnastics program as an Athletic trainer. Her favorite memory from UTPB is the women's basketball team beating UT Tyler in Frisco in the Lone star Conference Tournament last year. Pallavi has been a dedicated athletic trainer and the UTPB women's basketball team is grateful for everything she has added to our program.