SMU guard Raquel Christian brings the ball up the court against The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Wednesday evening inside Moody Coliseum. SMU won the game 80-48. (Rebecca Hanna/The Daily Campus )

SMU women’s basket ball displayed an inspired win that dismanted University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff 80-48. The Mustangs jumped out to an early lead and controlled the game on both the offensive and defensive side of the court.

SMU’s ability to spread the ball around the court and find open shooters kept the UAPB defense on their heels the entire night. SMU’s strong offensive showing was complemented by their defense who forced twenty-one turnovers which never allowed for Pine Bluff to find any rhythm.

Senior guard Haley Day was the leader of the offensive charge for the Ponies. After suffering from a hard collision in the first half, Day’s perimeter shooting came alive as she hit a career best four shots from behind the arch. She was the leader of the Mustang attack with 13 points. Christine Elliot had a perfect day shooting finishing five for five from the field. Her 12 points were second highest on the team, and she was the only other Mustang to finish with double digit points.

SMU head coach Rhonda Rompola was pleased with her team’s ball distribution and their ability to continue to find the open shooter all night.

“We did a good job of getting the ball to Christine with her having good position on her defender,” Rompola said.

The Mustangs’ hardnosed defensive play allowed them to come away unscathed with 17 turnovers and a show of poor ball possession. Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s 48 points was the second lowest amount of points the Mustangs have surrendered to an opponent all year.

The defense managed to be effective against the Lions by forcing 21 turnovers and allowing the Lions to shoot a mere 27 percent from the floor.

The SMU’s ability to sustain a big lead throughout the game gave the opportunity for Rompola to get every one of her players quality playing time. Every Mustang on roster was able to record double digit minutes on the court.

Mallory Singleton and Raven Short, both freshmen, gained experience on the floor by leading the Ponies with two blocked shots apiece. Freshman Krystal Johnson was second on the team in minutes with 21 and five rebounds. The fourth freshman on roster, Akil Simpson, made her contribution to the game with nine points and a perfect 3-3 shooting game.

SMU looks to bring their winning streak to five games against Big 12 foe University of Kansas this Saturday in Moody Coliseum at 2 p.m. The Mustangs are scheduled to play two more games at Moody before heading to Las Vegas for the Basketball Traveler’s Classic, a tournament stocked full with talented teams such as University of Texas, University of San Francisco and University of Nevada–Las Vegas.