Nov. 17, 2008
The University of Texas-Pan American women's basketball program recorded a 59-48 victory over Tennessee-Martin this Monday night at Elma Center in Martin, Tennessee.
The road win against Tennessee-Martin marks the first road victory in two years for the Lady Broncs.
"Definitely think its Teshay Winfrey best all around game that she has ever had since she's been with our program. We really responded after our loss to Pine Bluff and we really played two great halves," said head women's basketball coach DeAnn Craft. "This was our first road win in two years so it was a big moment for us all."
The Lady Broncs began on a good note as they led the game 4-2 for the first 3:20 in the first half attributed to jumpers from Teshay Winfrey and Brittany Demery.
Tennessee-Martin then tied the game at four with 16:38 left to play and even took the lead after a silent two minutes. But the Lady Broncs were not about to have that. Brittany Demery rebounded a missed jumper from Danielle Kostacky to shoot two and take the final lead of the game and never look back.
The Lady Broncs only allowed the Lady Skyhawks to come within one point but kept their defense up. The Lady Broncs had a close call when the Lady Skyhawks tied the game at 14 with 9:12 left to play, but two good free-throws from Teshay Winfrey gave UTPA their lead back.
Both teams struggled as they neither team scored and went on a four-minute dry run. Tennessee-Martin's Yolanda Davis committed a foul taking senior Teshay Winfrey to the line where she secured two more points for the Lady Broncs making the score 20-16.
In the final seconds of the first half, freshman Epiphany Smith nailed a three from behind the arc giving UTPA a 10-point lead.
"The floor game of Epiphany Smith, I think, was the difference in the game. She spread the floor and led the ball club defensively, which we created 24 turnovers for Martin, 18 which were actual steals for us," said Craft.
The Lady Broncs continued to widen their lead as they began the second half extending their lead to 12 with 18:57 on the clock making the score 23-35.
UTPA kept up the momentum throughout the remainder of the game as the Lady Broncs never allowed the lead to drop no more than three as Alishia Glover scored two for the Lady Skyhawks with 5:59 left on the clock.
As the game drew to an end, UTPA extended their lead once again to 11 with 1:01 on the clock with neither team scoring as the clock ran out of time. Of the 15 turnovers recorded by the Lady Broncs, four came in the second half.
Senior Teshay Winfrey recorded a career and season-high 23 points with 8-of-16 shooting from the field, 1-of-4 from behind the arc and perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe to go along a game-high nine rebounds, four assists and six steals.
Rose Esther recorded another stellar game as she finished the night with 13 points on 6-of-15 shooting with six rebounds, five assists and a career-high six steals.
Newcomer Brittany Demery was the only other Lady Bronc to record double-figures as she finished with 10 points with six rebounds and four steals.
The Lady Broncs next face Texas Lutheran at the UTPA Fieldhouse on Thursday, November 20 with game time slated for 7:00 p.m.
UTPA Sports Information
