Lady Texans Rally To Defeat Howard

LEVELLAND, Texas - The South Plains College Lady Texans improved to 23-6 overall and 11-3 in Western Junior College Athletic Conference competition, defeating the Howard College Lady Hawks 53-51 at the Texan Dome.

SPC led 13-8 at the midway point of the first half, but over the next minute the Lady Hawks went on a 5-0 run to tie the score.  After Chasity Workman made a layup to help the Lady Texans regain the lead, Howard again went on a 5-0 scoring run to take a three point lead, 18-15.  After the two teams exchanged buckets to make the score 20-17, the Lady Texans temporarily took the lead 21-20 with 1:28 left in the half.  SPC would go to the locker room down a point, however, as Howard's Patricia Malouff made a bucket with only two seconds left on the clock to give the Lady Hawks the lead.

After a close first half, the Lady Texans allowed Howard to put some distance on them as the Lady Hawks jumped ahead by nine points in the first five minutes of the second half.  With just under 14 minutes remaining in the game the Lady Texans trailed by 11, which would be the largest lead of the game.  Led by Dayon Hall-Jones seven points, the Lady Texans went on an 11-2 run over the next three minutes to pull back to within two points.  Howard extended the lead to five, thanks to a Chassidy Cole three pointer.  The teams exchanged baskets up and down the court over the next three minutes before Dayon Hall-Jones got SPC within one point with 4:32 left in regulation, 46-47. 
Less than a minute later, Samiesha Williams gave South Plains College their fist lead of the second half by scoring two of her four points.  Dayon Hall-Jones then scored the final of her game high 21 points to extend her teams lead to three with 2:44 left on the clock.  Howard was not finished as they regained the lead with 1:45 remaining, and they maintained that lead for the next 90 seconds, when Chasity Workman swiped up a loose ball and darted to SPC's goal.  Workman made a layup and was fouled in the process to set up a three point opportunity, which she converted to make the score 53-51.  The Lady Hawks ran down the court, but missed a shot with three seconds remaining.

The Lady Texans return to the hardwood on Thursday, February 26 for the regular season finale versus New Mexico Junior College.  New Mexico entered tonights contest versus Clarendon with a 6-6 record in the WJCAC.  Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

Thursdays contest will include a VIP reception from 6 - 7:30 p.m. for all SPC employees.  Invitations will be put in mailboxes soon and will provide every employee with free admission to both games and a meal at the reception, which is courtesy of Ameriprise Financial and Mike Mamantov.