Women's Basketball 1/13/2013 11:00:00 PM

Dustdevils Nearly Sink Arkansas Fort Smith

Box Score FORT SMITH, Arkansas (January 12) – The TAMIU women’s basketball may not have picked up a win Saturday afternoon, but they continue to show that they are becoming a formidable presence in the Heartland Conference.

Visiting the University of Arkansas Fort Smith, a team TAMIU has yet to defeat, the Dustdevils were within striking distance of the Lions in the final two minutes, but ultimately came up just short falling 70-64. The six-point margin of victory was the slimmest win by the Lions over the Dustdevils since Arkansas Fort Smith joined the conference in 2009.

“We had defensive errors and didn’t get stops in crucial moments in the last few minutes of the game,” said Head Coach Michelle Bento-Jackson. Amanda Mangan hit some very big shots and then we allowed Fort Smith to go right down and score. We let a huge opportunity slip away in the fact that we could have come away with two road wins.”

Tina Dang and Amanda Mangan combined for 38 points to lead the Dustdevils, combining for 11 total three pointers. Dang finished with a game high 20 points in addition to five assists, while Mangan added 18 points and nine rebounds. Sam Chacon and Kim Brown were kept in check for the majority of the game, combining to go 2-15 from the field for six total points.

Angi Ramey led UAFS with 18 points and a game-high 13 boards, helping the Lions out-rebound TAMIU 55-43. Katie BenAmor added 16 points while Tiffany Addison and Breanna Jones kicked in 12 and 11 respectively.

The Dustdevils shot 36.4 percent from long range but were held to just 31.4 percent shooting from the field. TAMIU finished with a season low eight turnovers, but once again allowed their opposition too many trips to the free throw line. The Dustdevils committed 22 personal fouls compared to only 10 by UAFS, with the Lions knocking down 20-26 free throws.

“Giving up offensive rebounds and putting opponents on the free throw line have haunted us all year,” said Coach Bento-Jackson. “Obviously those are high percentage points for our opponents and areas that we must improve upon.”

TAMIU controlled the pace of play for the majority of the opening half, but the Lions surged late to take a one-point lead at the half. With UAFS leading 12-10, Dang and Mangan combined for three straight three-pointers to stake TAMIU out to a 19-12 lead. After a Lions free throw, Dang hit another three to give the Dustdevils what would be their biggest lead of the game at 22-13. Following Dang’s three the Lions roared back with a 9-2 run to cut TAMIU’s advantage to 24-22. The Dustdevils pushed their lead back out to five, but UAFS closed the half on a 6-2 run to take a 30-29 lead into the half.

The second half was closely contested with neither team able to pull away. Ramey gave the Lions their biggest lead of the game at 49-42 after a layup in the paint, but Valencia Roy quickly responded with a three-point play to cut the lead back down to four. Dang and Linda Banuelos combined for a 5-0 run with 5:26 remaining in the half to give TAMIU a 57-55 lead, but the Lions came right back with four straight points to reclaim a two-point lead. After a Mangan tre gave TAMIU a 1-point lead, UAFS closed the game on an 8-1 run to claim a 70-64 victory.

With the loss TAMIU falls to 2-3 in conference play and 5-10 overall, while the win was Arkansas Fort Smith’s first in league play as they improved to 1-2. The Dustdevils return to Laredo for a two-game home stand, hosting McMurry University on Thursday, January 17 followed by St. Edward’s on January 19. The Dustdevils and the War Hawks will tip off at 5:30 p.m. Thursday night at the TAMIU KCB.

Print Friendly Version