Box Score LAREDO, Texas (January 17) – The first ever meeting between the TAMIU and McMurry university women’s basketball teams ended in heartbreaking fashion, as senior M.J. Vickers buried a three at the buzzer to give the War Hawks 59-56 win over the Dustdevils Thursday night at the TAMIU KCB.
Led by Malika Jackson and Amanda Mangan, TAMIU rallied from a 13-point deficit with 13:25 remaining to tie the game at 56 with only 26 seconds remaining. Vickers looked to set up a teammate as the final seconds ticked away but was unable to find anyone open. She let the shot fly from almost 24 feet and found nothing but the bottom of the net as the final horn sounded. A quick check at the instant replay monitor by the officiating crew confirmed that the shot was indeed out of Vickers’ hands in time.
“The positive is that we fought back from a 13-point deficit and played with a lot of energy and intensity to put ourselves in a situation to win or get the game into overtime,” said Head Coach Michelle Bento-Jackson. “Malika, Amanda, and Rosebud played with the mindset of being determined to win, rather than playing afraid to lose. Their energy level was contagious and infected the rest of the team late in the game. They fought back hard and I feel bad from them because they did exactly what we needed them to do … we were just one possession away.”
While the Dustdevils were dominant in the final ten minutes of play, a sloppy first half may have cost the team a chance to put the game away.
“I don’t know where we were in the first half,” said Coach Bento-Jackson. “We did a lot of uncharacteristic things – lots of turnovers and sloppy play on the offensive end. “
The Dustdevils, who have struggled this season on the glass, turned things around Thursday night out-rebounding the War Hawks 34-26. They also committed a season low 10 personal fouls, holding McMurry to just eight free throw attempts, also a season low. Turnovers continue to be an issue however, as the Dustdevils gave it up 24 times, their seventh game this season with at least 20 turnovers. TAMIU shot 42.3 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from three-point range, while McMurry shot 46 percent from the field and 40 percent from distance.
Malika Jackson led TAMIU with her third double-double of the season scoring 17 points and grabbing 13 boards. Amanda Mangan matched a season high with 18 points and added five steals and three rebounds. Three War Hawk players scored in double figures with Rekeita Thomas, Keshia Collins, and Claire Bruffey scoring 13, 10, and 10 respectively
TAMIU held an early four-point lead after a Mangan free-throw, but the War Hawks fought back to take the lead 16-14 on a Bruffey three-pointer. McMurry led by as many as six in the first period, before taking a five point lead (29-24) into the break.
The War Hawks opened the second half with a 9-2 run, extending their lead out to 38-26 and eventually 44-31. It was then that Malika Jackson took over, scoring eight of TAMIU’s next 10 points to pull the Dustdevils within three at 44-41. McMurry answered with buckets on each of their next two possessions, but Jackson and Mangan countered each time with timely baskets to keep TAMIU within three.
With the Dustdevils trailing by six with 56 seconds remaining, Guthrie connected on her first tre of the year to make it a two point game and Mangan tied the game at 56 with a clutch and-one play and follow up free throw. With momentum on the home team’s side, Vickers last second bucket took the wind out of the entire gym as the War Hawks walked away with a three point 59-56 win.
The loss drops TAMIU’s overall record to 5-11 on the season and does not affect their conference standing. The Dustdevils will return to action on Saturday January 19, hosting a rejuvenated St. Edward’s team at the TAMIU KCB at 2 p.m.
