LEVELLAND, Texas—Nia Mims scored 14 points and Jasauen Beard finished with 12 as the South Plains College Lady Texans improved to 10-1 on the season and 2-0 in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference following a 66-56 victory over Frank Phillips College on Saturday at the Texan Dome.
"I thought I shot pretty well," said Mims, who was 5-for-6 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the 3-point line. "I was just trying to get a win for my team, and I remember telling coach Petree 'I would to anything to get this win.' I'm a shooter, so I just shot the ball. When I made the first one I just kept shooting. I was feeling it."
The Lady Plainsmen began the contest on a 9-3 run capped off by a 3 from Kinsley Choate. Following a timeout by South Plains head coach Cayla Petree, the Lady Texans strung together a 6-0 run of their own and tied the game at 9-9 with a conversion at the rim by Dabrasia Baty with 4:11 to play in the first quarter.
Madeline Dorris came off the bench and provided an immediate presence inside the paint for South Plains, connecting on back-to-back layups to give the Lady Texans a 15-10 advantage with under two minutes remaining in the first period.
"Coach warned us about coming out on a low after our big win at Midland," said Dorris, who finished the contest with 10 points. "That tends to happen to teams, so I think we were able to build up that lead and come out with the tenacity that she asked us to."
Mims pushed the Lady Texans lead to 11 at the 5:49 mark of the second quarter when the freshman from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania hit consecutive 3-pointers from the top of the key. Frank Phillips Sarah Samaron hit a jumper at the buzzer to end the first half with South Plains leading 40-24 after 20 minutes.
Mims began the second half much like the first, connecting from behind the arc with 7:40 left in the third quarter to extend the Lady Texans' lead to 49-28. Frank Phillips would go on a 7-0 run late in the third which was quickly halted by a 12-foot jumper from Beard with under a minute remaining.
Kiara Shoals would trim the lead to 58-50 with 3:12 remaining in the contest following a steal and a conversion at the bucket. The Lady Texans answered back with Yaninka Inkina's 10-foot jumper, pushing the lead back to 10 with 2:40 left. A steal by Baty preceded by a jump shot off the glass gave South Plains a 62-53 lead with under two minutes to play.
"We were just trying to punch back to let them know we were still there and still fighting and we were going to get the win," said Baty, who finished with 10 points and 11 boards. "I think our team chemistry off the court is just as good as it is on the court, so I think we're just building as a team and we're like a family."
Saturday's win marks 10 consecutive for the Lady Texans dating back to November 4. South Plains will look to remain in the win column when they play host to the Lady Texans Holiday Classic on Dec. 11–Dec. 13 at the Texan Dome. All games can be watched live at spctexans.com using the 'Watch Games' tab at the top of the homepage.