The University of Texas-Pan American women's basketball program opened conference play Thursday evening (Jan. 14) with a victory over New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) by a score of 62-54 at the UTPA Fieldhouse.
EDINBURG, TX -- The game started with a three-point basket by Bianca Torre with 32 seconds in the game followed by a two-point bucket by NJIT's Ivana Seric making it a one-point game. After a basket by Maria Ben Erlingsdottir at the 18:45 mark, NJIT made a four point run to take the lead at 5-6. Torre added a three-point basket at with 16:32 left in the first half making it an 8-6 game and never trailed again.
In the second half, the Lady Broncs stretched their lead to as many as 13 points on solid defensive play before pulling out the eight-point victory. The Lady Broncs held NJIT to 25.4% (18-71) from the field and 9.5% (2-21) from beyond the three-point line. In contrast, the Lady Broncs shot 52.3% (23-44) from the field and 44.4% (8-18) from beyond the three-point line.
"Our defense was really good, when we hold someone to 25% shooting from the field, we'll win plenty of games," said head women's coach Denny Downing. "We just need to do a better job of taking care of the ball. We had to many unforced turnovers and we need to improve our free throwing shooting. I was really pleased with our overall effort once again," added Downing.
The Lady Broncs had four players in double figures led by the tandem of Aleeya Grigsby and Erlingsdottir with a game high 16 points each. Freshman and Valley native Torre scored 13 points and dished out three assists while Marah Guzman, another Valley native, added 10 points and pulled down five rebounds to round out the high scorers for the Lady Broncs.
Seric led NJIT with 14 points and 11 rebounds while teammate Taiwo Oyelola added 12 points and six points.
Three Broncs in double-figures led the way for the UTPA men's basketball team as the Broncs defeated the Highlanders 66-53 this Thursday (Jan. 14) evening at the UTPA Fieldhouse.
The win improves the Broncs to 2-16 for the season and 1-0 in Great West Conference play, while the Highlanders drop to 5-12 for the season and 0-1 in conference play.
Aaron Urbanus and Matt Mierzycki each scored a team-high 13 points with Luis Valera adding 10 points for the Broncs. Valera was two rebounds shy of his first double-double of the season as he also grabbed eight boards.
Urbanus' 13 points all came in the second half along with his two steals and two rebounds.
The Broncs bench showed up in the first half as they scored 13 of UTPA's 26 points. Both ball clubs showed their competitive side as the first half consisted of seven ties and five lead changes.
UTPA found themselves trailing in the first half, but closed up the six point lead the Highlanders held at the 11:36 mark as the Broncs tied the score at 15 on a layup by Jacob Trader with 7:40 left in regulation.
The remainder of the half flipped-flopped between the two teams, but ended with the Highlanders leading by one at the half. Rico Seagears knocked down a three to bring the Broncs within one.
The Broncs were quick to gain a lead in the second as Nick Weiermiller scored three at the 18:54 mark. The Highlanders were able to tie the score, but the Broncs held on strong to capture their second win of the season.
As a team, the Broncs shot 42 percent (19-45) from the field, including 25 percent (4-16) from three-point range and 77 percent (24-31) from the free throw line.
Chris Flores was the Highlanders leading scorer with 16 points. Flores also grabbed four rebounds and collected two assists and one steal.
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