Jan. 6, 2005
Contact: Matt Schabert (210) 458-4930
Roadrunners drop close contest at Louisiana-Monroe, 75-72
Box Score
MONROE, La. – Four players scored in double figures and the University of Texas at San Antonio women’s basketball shot a season-high 56 percent, but it came in a losing effort as the Louisiana-Monroe Lady Indians rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second to defeat the Roadrunners 75-72 Thursday at Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
UTSA trailed 33-28 at halftime but outscored ULM 30-11 in the first 12 minutes of the second half to lead by as many as 14. The Lady Indians rallied behind their pressure defense and Roadrunner foul trouble and re-gained the lead with 1:24 remaining as the Roadrunners fell to 6-6 overall and 0-1 in the Southland Conference. ULM improved to 8-4 and 1-0 in the league.
Freshman Richelle Parks led UTSA with 18 points and six rebounds but picked up her fourth foul with 7:29 remaining in the game and UTSA leading 58-47. ULM then went on a 20-6 run keyed by eight consecutive points from Michelle Biley to re-gain the lead 67-66 with 1:24 left. The Lady Indians then scored the next eight points to complete a 28-6 run and seal the league victory. ULM, which came into the game ranked sixth nationally in steals per game, created eight UTSA turnovers during the run.
Junior Katie Sandefur registered a season-high 15 points, including 7-of-11 free throws, before fouling out. Lacy Mingee came off the bench to score a season-high 11 points and led the Roadrunners with seven boards. Nicole Dunson chipped in with 10 points and a team-high five assists as UTSA registered a season-high 18 assists. Biley had 18 to lead the Lady Indians, while Aishie Banks scored 15 and Gerline Guillaume tallied 12.
For the game, the Roadrunners shot 26-of-46 and out-rebounded the Lady Indians 35-26, but UTSA committed a season-high 26 turnovers.
In the first half, ULM raced out a 21-12 lead after a trey by Renata Dorsey at the 10:05 mark. UTSA then went on an 8-1 run to cut the Lady Indian lead to 22-20 after a Sandefur basket with 6:25 left in the opening half. ULM went ahead again by seven, at 27-20, but the Roadrunners erased that margin with an 8-2 run to cut the game to one, at 29-28, with 1:15 left in the initial half.
The Roadrunners will look to even their league record Saturday at Northwestern State. Tip-off at Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches is scheduled for 2 p.m.