BIG SPRING — The seventh-ranked South Plains College women's basketball team took one more step towards capturing the Western Junior College Athletic Conference crown Saturday, defeating Howard College 68-47 at Dorothy Garrett Coliseum.
South Plains holds a one-game conference lead over Midland College with a single game remaining, locking up at least a share of the conference title and a No. 1 seed in the WJCAC Tournament. The Lady Texans will close out the regular season on Monday in Borger when they do battle with Frank Phillips College at 5:45 p.m.
Leading 27-25 at the half, South Plains would come out of the break and shoot 61.5 percent in the third quarter as sophomore Jordan Brown scored seven of her final 12 points in the third, knocking down a pair of jumpers and was 3 of 3 from the free throw line. South Plains continued to chip away in the fourth, shooting 56.3 percent in the final stint as Deborah Reis dropped in eight of her game-high 15 points in the final 10 minutes. Reis would finish with 18 boads and five steals, her 14th double-double this season.
Grace Hunter dropped in nine points on 3 of 6 shooting over 16 minutes for South Plains while Martyna Czescik had eight points and six rebounds coming off the bench for SPC. Sophomore Shayla Moseberry provided seven points over 20 minutes for the Lady Texans who shot 45.6 percent from the field and were 12 of 15 from the charity stripe.
The Lady Texans would go on to lead by as much as 21 in the final quarter, forcing Howard into 19 turnovers in the contest as the Lady Hawks shot just 30 percent from the field and were 2 of 13 from distance. South Plains won the battle on the glass 35-25, netted 19 points off turnovers, and scored 22 points inside the paint.