SMU shot 31 percent from the floor, turned the ball over 19 times, and gave up 21 offensive rebounds Sunday against North Texas. They also won the game. The Mustangs used a suffocating defense to overcome a horrible offensive performance to beat the Mean Green 60-46. Coach Rhonda Rompola said, “our defensive pressure and scrappiness were great today. We did a good job of getting our hands in the passing lanes and putting pressure on their guards.”
The Mustangs forced North Texas into 25 percent shooting for the game and an unheard of 14 percent in the second half as SMU outscored the Mean Green 31-16 after trailing by a point at halftime. The Mustangs forced North Texas into 21 turnovers and generally took away everything the Green wanted to do on offense after allowing them to jump out to an early 12-point lead.
SMU’s Sarah Davis stepped up when her team struggled, hitting three first half threes to get the Ponies back in the game. “We were really nervous before the game, not as hyped and ready to play as I would like,” Rompola said, “and Sarah’s threes couldn’t have come at a better time because we needed a lift.” Davis led the Mustangs with 13 points and 12 rebounds and said the win was big for the team. “It’s against a cross-town rival that you definitely want to win for bragging rights,” Davis said, “and for a while we were wondering if a ball could go in, but we made the plays to get a game we had to win.”
Davis was aided by 11 points by Katy Cobb who shot 3-5 from the field and 4-4 from the free throw line. Janielle Dodds chipped in 9 points and 7 rebounds and Senior Shonte Roberts had 8 points as the Mean Green focused their defense on taking away the post from the Mustangs. “Credit North Texas, they did a good job of rotating over the opposite guard,” Rompola said, “and pressuring the player trying to make the entry.”
SMU’s guards didn’t make up the difference much on the offensive end as they struggled shooting the ball, but their defensive pressure was the difference. Point Guard Kendall Shead had 3 steals, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists to go along with her 8 points. Freshman Sharee Shepherd came off the bench to get 7 huge rebounds from her guard spot. Shepherd also provided 6 points on a night when the Mustangs needed every point they could get.
The win moves the Mustangs to 5-1 on the season and drops the Mean Green to 2-3 on the year. SMU returns to take on another Metroplex rival in UT-Arlington on Saturday, Dec. 11 in Moody Coliseum at 7 p.m.
