ODESSA, Texas (February 5, 2026) – The University of Texas Permian Basin women's basketball team outscored Sul Ross State University 20-9 in a dominant second quarter and scored at least 18 points in all four quarters en route to a 75-54 win over the Lobos on Thursday evening inside the Falcon Dome.

UTPB emptied the bench with 15 players seeing action in this one and 11 entering the scoring column.

Kenadi Rising led the team with 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the field, and was followed by Mikalah Buckley with 14 points and Madison Walters and Ja'Nya Thomas both with 10 points.

Juliet Esomchukwu drew the start, was one of three Falcons with three steals, and was also one of three Falcons with six rebounds.

Crystal Jones had one of her best performances as a Falcon and was effective for the second game in a row, scoring seven points while also leading the team with eight rebounds.

Despite not entering the scoring column, Jonesha Neal led the team with six assists.

It was a very slow start to the game offensively as both teams committed more turnovers that they had points in the first five minutes of the game. It took over three minutes for UTPB to enter the scoring column on a 3-pointer by Walters. Despite nine turnovers as a team for UTPB in the opening period and a 10-2 advantage on points off of those turnovers for SRSU, Walters hit another 3-pointer to close out the quarter and give the Falcons a 19-15 advantage.

The story of this game was all about the second quarter as UTPB scored the first 12 points of the period until a free throw by SRSU with 4:46 left before halftime. That ended what was in all a 15-0 Falcons' run starting with the 3-pointer to end the first quarter by Walters and ending with a smooth stepback 3-pointer by Buckley that made it a 31-15 Falcons' lead. Buckley scored eight points during the run for the Falcons and had 12 points in the first half.

UTPB led by 20 points (36-16) after an offensive rebound and an and-one by Jones with exactly three minutes left in the second quarter. That made it a 17-1 start to the period for the Falcons.

SRSU missed its first 10 shots of the second quarter, only scored one point in the first 7:59 of the period, and did not convert on a field goal until within the final minute before halftime.

The Lobos were just 2-for-11 (18.18 percent) from the field with seven turnovers in the second quarter while UTPB led 10-1 in points off turnovers and 12-0 in points in the paint in the period.

It was a rough start to the third quarter for UTPB, which started 2-for-6 from the field with three turnovers in the first five minutes as SRSU cut its deficit down to 12 points (43-31) after a 3-pointer by Leslii Mojica. The Falcons then saw their lead trimmed to 10 points (45-35) after a pair of free throws by Mojica hallway through the period.

A corner three by Rising on the next UTPB possession after Mojica's free throws got the Falcons' offense going again, and UTPB proceeded to go up by 20 points for the second time in the game (57-37) following a layup by Rising to cap a 12-2 Falcons' run with one minute remaining in the third quarter.

Again, SRSU fought back to within 10 points, getting it to 59-49 on the third 3-pointer (3-for-3) by Sophiya Bustillos within the first two and a half minutes of the fourth quarter, but yet again, a 3-pointer by Rising ignited the 12-2 Falcons' run to again take back a 20-point lead, their third such lead of the ballgame. This time the Falcons led 71-51 after a 3-pointer by Thomas with two just two minutes left to play.

In the final 65 seconds of the game, freshman Camille Torrence sank a long two-point jumper for the first made field goal of her collegiate career, and then just before the final buzzer, fellow-freshman Ryliegh Hackman scored on a fastbreak layup off the assist from Thomas.

Both teams finished with 22 turnovers and made at least seven 3-pointers, but the Falcons led 44-29 on the boards, 18-11 on the offensive glass, 32-10 on points in the paint, and 23-2 on fastbreak points.

In the end, UTPB's nine made 3-pointers were its second-most in a game this season, while its 44 rebounds were its fourth-most. The Falcons also tied their season-high with 19 assists.

"This was a great team win, and was one that we really needed," said UTPB's Head Women's Basketball Coach Rae Boothe. "We shared the ball well and had good balance in scoring and rebounding. This was a must-win for us to stay in the race for the postseason."

With the win, UTPB snaps a three-game losing streak and improves to 12-9 overall and 7-6 in the Lone Star Conference, and also moves back up to eighth place in the LSC standings by virtue of losses by St. Mary's University and The University of Texas at Dallas on Thursday. After starting 0-9 in conference play, SRSU (3-16, 2-11) had won two of its last three games and was coming off a 62-58 home win over Texas A&M University-Kingsville.

Next up, the Falcons will finish off their three-game homestand against Western New Mexico University at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 7.