Inkina's season-high 26 points leads Lady Texans past Clarendon 81-55.

Inkina's season-high 26 points leads Lady Texans past Clarendon 81-55.

LEVELLAND—Yanina Inkina scored a season-high 26 points as the No. 7 South Plains College Lady Texans downed Clarendon 81-55 to improve to 10-3 in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference on Thursday night at the Texan Dome.

"I was able to hit some shots outside, and my teammates helped me find some good shots tonight," Inkina said. "We were trying to move the ball quickly on offense and make plays. You never know when you'll have a game like this, and I was just trying to stay focused and take good shots. I felt pretty good in the first half and just tried to help out my team."

Inkina went 9-of-13 from the floor and 6-for-8 from the 3-point line over 29 minutes. Brittany Smith finished with a career-high 15 assists and was 4-of-9 from the floor totaling 11 points. Taylor Holley knocked down five 3s and finished with 15 points, while Joneva Huey went 7-for-9 from the field and recorded a season-high 15 points.

"This was a good win overall for our entire team," Smith said. "I was just trying to find the open man and they were able to knock down some shots for us. We kept running and most of my assists came in transition, and we finished the play by knocking down our open shots. We just tried to play hard for the entire game and pick up a win."

Holley got things rolling for South Plains with two 3-balls early in the first quarter giving the Lady Texans a 14-5 advantage with 4:24 left. Inkina hit a trey from the right wing with 1:31 to play in the first to extend the lead to 21-8. The sophomore from Belarus would find the bucket from the perimeter once again early in the second, downing another 3, this time from the left wing to push the lead to 28-14. Smith capped off the first half with a 3 of her own from the corner to send the Lady Texans into the break leading 39-23.

"I love playing with my teammates, and they found me be the ball early and I was able to knock down some shots," Holley said. "Brittany is one of the best point guards I've ever played with, and she has a high IQ for the game and found me every time. Once we get everything clicking on offense we're a dangerous team."

Jasauen Beard opened the second half with a runner in the paint off an assist from Holley to keep the momentum and extend South Plains' lead to 47-32. Huey hit a bank shot off the glass with 4:50 left in third pushing the lead to 52-25 as the Lady Texans went on to lead 56-35 heading into the final stint.

Huey would then go coast to coast after stepping in front of a pass and taking it the end of the court to extend the lead to 58-37 with 8:22 remaining. Inkina put the final touches on an offensive showcase for South Plains a pair of 3s with under four minutes left, sending the Lady Texans into their final regular season game on March 2 as winners of eight of their last nine.

"We just tried to keep moving and not stay stagnant on offense," Huey said. "We moved the ball well and it really worked because the ball wasn't sticking in one spot. I felt like a caged animal tonight, I just wanted the ball and wanted to go get it."