Nov. 19, 2005
Contact: Carlos Valdez III. (210) 458-4930
Vivian Ewalefo’s 22 points leads UTSA to 71-61 win over Florida A&M
Box Score
ORLANDO, Fla. – Junior forward Vivian Ewalefo’s game-highs of 22 points and nine rebounds helped lead the University of Texas at San Antonio women’s basketball team to a 71-61 win over Florida A&M Saturday afternoon at the Central Florida Golden Knights Classic.
The Roadrunners improve their record to 2-0, while the Rattlers drop to 0-2.
Senior guard Nicole Dunson also scored in double figures with 19 points on seven-out-of-11 shooting from the floor, including five-for-nine from behind the arc. Senior forward Katie Sandefur chipped in with 12 points and collected seven rebounds.
Leading scorer for FAMU was sophomore guard Evette Young with 17 points and she also dished out three assists.
"One thing I told my team was to slow the pace and we will be successful in getting the early lead and not let FAMU run up and down the floor” said head coach Rae Rippetoe-Blair. “Vivian was great off the bench in doing two things which was score and rebound the ball. Nicole did a good job shooting the ball from the three-point line. I told her to shoot the ball. Overall getting two wins against two good teams is a great start for us."
Florida A&M open the game on a 5-0 run as Deidra Jones hit two free throws and Q’ Vaunda Curry nailed a three-pointer from the right side for the early lead..
UTSA stormed back to a 12-6 lead using a 12-1 run with 13:40 left in the first half, when Ewalefo hit a turnaround jumper from the left-side of the court. Dunson and Ewalefo each scored six apiece during the run.
The Rattlers would regain the lead midway the half at 15-14 on a jumper by Dawn Kindred with 10:12 left in the frame. This would be the last time FAMU would have a lead.
The Runners used a 12-7 run to end the half and go upped its lead to 37-27.
In the second half, UTSA stormed to a 20 point lead (54-34), which would be the largest lead of the game.
The Rattlers got as close as eight points (67-59) on a jumper by Young with 3:03 left in the game.
UTSA returns to San Antonio to host Tulsa Nov. 22 at the Convocation Center, tip-off set for 7 p.m.