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LADY RAIDERS HAND MAVS 69-49 LOSS IN NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND ACTION
March 19, 2005
DALLAS, Texas - The 13th-seeded Texas-Arlington Mavericks trailed Texas Tech by just three points at halftime of their first-ever NCAA appearance, but TTU's LaToya Davis scored 19 of her game-high 26 points in the second half to lead the Lady Raiders to a 69-49 victory over the Mavs Saturday evening at Reunion Arena. The Mavs complete their stellar season with a 21-10 mark while Texas Tech improved to 23-7 and advances to face Middle Tennessee on Monday evening. "I feel like our team represented the university and conference well, said head coach Donna Capps. It would have been easy for our group as the underdog to tie down, but they didn't. I felt like they were taking it to them, even though we were down at the very end. Somehow, I don't feel the score was indicative of all that they gave on the court." The Mavs forced a Texas Tech turnover on the tip and pushed down the floor for a Rola Ogunoye lay-in. The Lady Raiders countered and the squads traded baskets before TTU capitalized on back-to-back Maverick turnovers to push to a five-point advantage. An Ashley Bobb put back stopped the Lady Raider run before TTU's lead extended to eight, its largest of the half. After a timeout, the Mavs held TTU scoreless over the next 2:30 before a LaToya Davis free throw stopped the drought. Down by six, the Mavs forced a TTU turnover and used a Krystal Buchanan lay up followed by an Ogunoye three point play to pull within one.
Tech pushed its lead back to six but the Mavs gained back their fire and silenced the Tech crowd with a Terra Wallace three pointer. UTA used two straight Lady Raider turnovers and a Bobb jumper to pull back to 27-28 with 2:25 left to play in the opening half. The Lady Raiders, leading by only three at the half, used an 18-6 run to open the second half and pushed to their largest lead as of yet, 50-35 with 12:23 to play. TTU continued to show why they are one of the top teams in the field of 64, pushing its lead to as many as 21. The Mavs used a Bobb three-pointer and a Buchanan free throw to pull within 15 but it was as close as they would come in the final minutes. Ogunoye, playing her final game in a Maverick uniform, led UTA with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Bobb (14) and Wallace (11) joined her in double figure scoring. Davis added 14 rebounds to her game-high 26 points for the Lady Raiders. She was joined in double-digits by Alesha Robertson and Chesley Dabbs with 10 points apiece. -utamavs.com- |