Lady Texans overcome 10 point deficit to defeat Howard College

LEVELLAND, Texas - Ashley Roberts made 7-of-15 shots for 21 points, and Kelsey Canavan recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds and the Lady Texans (15-6, 5-2) overcame a 10 point deficit in the second half to defeat Howard College (18-6, 4-3) 58-54 Thursday night at the Texan Dome.

Outside of the first two minutes, when the Lady Texans took leads of 2-0 and 4-2, South Plains College trailed the entire game against the Lady Hawks and went to the locker room looking at a seven point deficit, 29-22.

Down by 10 with 15:46 remaining on the clock, the Lady Texans went on a 9-2 scoring run to get to within three points, 40-37. Howard answered and stretched their lead back to eight points, 48-40.

Avril Matthews answered by getting a floater from the paint to drop. Roberts converted a steal by Canavan into a three point bucket and then completed a 7-0 SPC scoring run by pulling down a missed shot by Toi'Easha Cooper and putting it back in the basket to get the Lady Texans within a single point, 48-47, with 4:43 remaining in the game.

Moments later, with her team down by three, Roberts tied the game with another big shot from downtown.

Howard College went on to take their last lead of the ballgame thanks to a converted field goal by Tasha Tubbs. The next trip down the floor, Canavan tied the game, 54-54. Roberts converted two free throws and Canavan put the game out of reach with the final basket of the game, helping SPC to finish with a 6-0 run to put Howard away 58-54.

The Lady Texans are now joined atop the standing by only Odessa College (15-9, 5-2), who defeated Western Texas Thursday night.

South Plains will travel to Midland on Monday, February 7, for a showdown with the Lady Chaps (19-5, 4-2). Midland will be playing on short rest as their Thursday night contest with Frank Phillips College was rescheduled due to hazardous weather conditions. Tip-off is set for 5:45 p.m. and the courtside action will be provided by Michael Wiiest on KLVT 1230 AM. A live video stream can be accessed by visiting www.spctexans.com.