Jan. 13, 2012

Final Stats

WICHITA, Kansas - Satoria Bell, one of the top players in the Heartland Conference (23 ppg), scored a game high 26 points Thursday night to lead defending conference champion Newman, over the Texas A&M International University women's Basketball team 88-81.

The Dustdevils were without starting guard Desteney Howard, who was sidelined earlier this week with a season ending knee injury. "This was a tough one to lose... the girls played hard and it was right there for the taking," said Head Coach David Beaver. "I'm proud of the effort to go on the road against a team that is receiving votes in the national poll and match them blow for blow. I'm not into moral victories, but I feel like we've earned a certain level of respect tonight."

Nikkitti Scott and Samantha Chacon paced the Dustdevils scoring 16 points apiece. Scott also grabbed a season high 17 rebounds notching her fourth double-double of the season. Amanda Mangan and Re'Nikia Meshack each scored in double digits, adding 15 and 12 points respectively. The Dustdevils struggled shooting the ball finishing 36 percent from the field, including a 7-25 performance from three point range.

The game was back in forth in the early minutes until the Jets used a 7-0 run to take a seven point lead (17-10) at the 12:38 mark. The Dustdevils fought their way back using a 12-5 run to tie the game at 22 with 7:26 remaining. But Newman closed out the half outscoring TAMIU 13-8, taking a five point lead (35-30) into halftime.

The Dustdevils cut the lead to two (37-35) early in the second half, but from there it was all Jets. Newman took their first double digit lead of the game (47-36) after a 10-1 run and pushed the lead all the way out to sixteen points (63-47) with 9:30 left to play. The Dustdevils did their best to mount a comeback capped by a Mangan tre with 3:11 remaining, which trimmed the deficit to four (75-71). But the Jets maintained their poise in the waning minutes of the game, knocking down timely shots and making their free throws to secure the 88-81 victory.

The TAMIU Women drop to 1-2 in Heartland Conference play and 9-8 overall. The Dustdevils will round out their four game conference road trip, taking on Oklahoma Panhandle State University Saturday, January 14 at 2 p.m.