Oklahoma Panhandle State University

Box Score Goodwell, Okla.—Saturday's match-up between the Oklahoma Panhandle State University Aggies and the Northern New Mexico College Lady Eagles ended with a loss for the home team as the Aggies were defeated 81-68 on their home court.

The Aggies first point of the game came from Hannah Tatum as she sank a shot from the line off a foul by the Lady Eagles. The free-throw line became a popular spot throughout the game as the two teams combined for a total of 38 fouls; Northern New Mexico with 23 and OPSU with 15. The Aggies took advantage of their opportunities at the line scoring 25 points on the game.

In each half the Aggies totaled 34 points; and while the first half saw a higher shooting percentage, the second half saw fewer turnovers which gave the opponent only two points on takeaways compared to 14 scored in the first half.

Northern New Mexico won the tip-off scoring a quick layup to take an early lead. After a slow start for both teams, NNMC moved up 9-1 with a full six minutes off the clock. The pace picked up and by the 10:50 mark the Aggies had cut the lead to two points. The Lady Eagles went on to score 13 unanswered points, but repeated fouls sent the Aggies to the line five times in the remaining minutes and OPSU left the court down by only eight points at the half (34-42).

An early foul by the Aggies gave the Lady Eagles a double-digit lead which they would not relinquish for the remainder of the game. It was free throws once again that sent the opponent to the line with seven minutes left to play giving them the largest lead of the game 69-46. The Aggies, however, did not give up and fought to within ten points (63-73) with 3:31 left on the clock. OPSU added five more points to the board (all from the line) but were unable to climb ahead; the Lady Eagles earned a 13-point win to improve their record to 8-1 on the season. The Aggies drop to 1-7 overall.

While OPSU Coach Charles Terry felt that his team played great defensively, he also felt that they struggled scoring saying, "that's been a problem for us all year; makes it tough when you can't score." Terry was proud of their effort and how his players "hung in there until the end." He added, "We just need to find a way to have success."

The outcome is certainly not indicative of the effort as two Aggies earned game-high scores: Kiera Waters topped all with 19 points and Tatyana Bell was close behind totaling 16. Sade Tutson also scored in double-digits with 13 points for the game. For the Lady Eagles, Shayna Porter-Banks led her team with 14 points.

OPSU totaled 33 rebounds against the Lady Eagles, 15 of which were brought down by Bell and Brittany Alavinejad. Bell grabbed a game-high eight rebounds along with Myla Woods-Brown and Michelle Montes both of NNMC; Alavinejad totaled seven boards.

The Aggie women will take a short break during finals this week and will then turn around and play Northern New Mexico on their home court in Espanola, N.M. on Saturday, Dec. 13; the game begins at 3 p.m.