Lady Mustangs end home season, beat UTEP

The Lady Mustangs completed their home schedule by beating UTEP 68-62 Saturday at Moody Coliseum. SMU controlled most of the game, but allowed UTEP to pose a threat late in the middle of the second half.

In the first half, SMU fell behind the Miners midway through the period when SMU tied the game at 16.

SMU would not hit its next basket until the seven minute mark. Senior Kenni Patton nailed a three-point shot. SMU took the lead and would hold onto it for the rest of the game despite a secod half scare.

SMU went into the halftime intermission with a 33-23 lead. In the second half, the Mustangs added to that lead.

Up by as many as 17 in the second half, SMU tried to cruise to a victory but found rocky terrain on the way. Up 47-31 with 12:43 to go, SMU lost some of the offensive punch that gave them the lead.

“I played our starters in the second half until the 13-minute mark,” Rompola said. “I subbed four out of the five starters, and at that point, we just lost some of our offense, lost some of our momentum.”

UTEP began to slice into the Ponies’ lead until SMU head coach Rhonda Rompola was forced to respond.

UTEP center Ingrid Goslin scored 16 points in the second half, taking full adavantage of SMU’s vulnerable squad. The Mustangs were up 61-47, with just under six minutes to go in the game when Goslin and the Miners started to come back. She scored eight of UTEP’s next 10 points and UTEP was within six with under three minutes to play.

UTEP almost caught SMU sleeping, but SMU was able to finish off the game and their Moody season.

“At this point of the season, you can’t relax because everyone wants to win,” Mustangs senior Kaci Alexander said.

Alexander led SMU with 14 points and eight rebounds. Shonte Roberts had a perfect day from the field, making six field goals totaling 12 points.

SMU set a school record with 12 blocked shots. Sarah Davis led the swat team with three rejections of her own.

SMU now looks forward to ending the regular season on the road playing in Ruston, La. The Mustangs will face sixth-ranked Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters at 7 p.m. Thursday evening.

“Going into the [Louisiana Tech] game coming off back to back wins, we’re feeling good right now about our shots and making improvements,” Alexander said.