For the second straight game, the Lady Texans trailed at halftime and rallied to earn the win and improve to 15-2 overall and 2-0 in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference.
Howard (12-4, 1-2) kept Lady Texans leading scorer Tasheena Moore in check with only six points – all in the first half – but Moore's Lady Texan teammates were more than able to pick up the slack with seven players scoring in the game.
Down 26-22 at halftime, South Plains kept the game close as the two teams began the second half. Trailing 32-27, Alexius Dawn nailed a 3 at the 16:49 mark and then 26-seconds later took advantage of steal by Sydney Hearn to tie the game up at 32 apiece on a fast break opportunity.
Moments later, Stephanie Moore gave South Plains their first lead of the second half.
Stephanie Moore helped begin another Lady Texan run when she put back a missed field goal by Dawn with 11:03 to go in the ball game. Fouled on the play, Moore tied the game up at 37.
Kayla Turner converted a Stephanie Moore steal into a 3-point bucket to score her only points in the game and then Dawn went coast-to-coast after she picked Marion Lemonnier's pocket. Shea Myatt hit a key 3 with 6:40 to go that completed an 11-0 Lady Texan run.
With just over one minute remaining, Stephanie Moore scored her final field goal in the game to give South Plains a seven-point advantage over the Hawks.
Lemonnier hit the bottom of the net on a 3-point goal and her teammate, Sarah Stinnett, brought the Hawks back to within two following a turnover by Dawn as the Lady Texans saw their lead shrink to 52-50 in the final 30 seconds.
Howard had a chance as Tasheena Moore missed the front end of a 1-and-1, but the Lady Texans tied up the ball on the miss and the jump ball stayed with SPC.
The Lady Texans got the inbounds in cleanly and Jasmine Brainard found Hearn open on the block. Hearn was fouled and went to the line to try to put the game away. Missing the first free throw, Hearn converted the second to put SPC up 53-50.
With plenty of time to push the ball up the court, Howard found an open look to tie the game at the buzzer, but Brittany Aiken's attempt clanked off the rim as SPC earned their second WJCAC victory in as many league games.
As a team, South Plains made 23-of-46 (.500) shots from the field, included 5-of-12 from beyond the arc.
Next up for the Lady Texans is a road trip to Hobb, N.M., where they will face the Lady T-Birds of New Mexico Junior College at 6:45 p.m. Central Standard Time.
Lady Texan head coach Michelle Wyatt holds a 13-4 record over New Mexico during her tenure at SPC, but lost each of the three games the two teams played last season.
Live video and statistics for the Lady Texans WJCAC Monday showdown in Hobbs will be available at www.spctexans.com. KLVT's Michael Wiiest will call the courtside action that can also be listened to by tuning in online at www.klvtradio.com or over the air on KLVT 1230 AM.
Howard (12-4, 1-2)
Stephanie Carrillo 0-0 0-0 0, Brittany Aikens 5-9 1-2 13, Sarah Stinnett 3-9 0-0 7, Anitria Flowers 2-4 0-0 5, Tori Tucker 6-11 0-0 12, Destinee Thrash 1-5 0-0 2, Alisha Spearman 1-2 0-0 2, Marion Lemonnier 2-7 0-0 6, Shari Stewart 0-0 0-0 0, Teiona Tarrant 1-1 1-2 3. Totals 21-48 2-4 50
South Plains (15-2, 2-0)
Alexius Dawn 4-7 0-0 10, Aundrea Davis 0-1 0-0 0, TaSheena Moore 3-11 0-1 6, Jasmine Brainard 3-3 0-0 6, Kayla Turner 1-2 0-0 3, Shea Myatt 3-6 0-0 8, Lindsey Lee 0-0 0-0 0,Sydney Hearn 2-7 1-4 5, Stephanie Moore 7-9 1-3 15. Totals 23-46 2-8 53
SCORE BY PERIODS 1st 2nd TOTAL
Howard 26 24 50
South Plains 22 31 53
FG%: Howard .438, South Plains .500. 3-pt FG:Howard 6-22 (Aikens 2-5, Stinnett 1-5, Flowers 1-3, Tucker 0-1, Thrash 0-2, Lemonnier 2-6), South Plains 5-12 (Dawn 2-4, Davis 0-1, Moore 0-4, Turner 1-1, Myatt 2-2). Rebounds: Howard 30 (TEAM 6, Spearman 6), South Plains 23 (Moore 6). Fouls Howard 12, South Plains 10. Fouled out: none. Technical: none. Assists: Howard 10 (Lemonnier 3), South Plains 16 (Moore 5). Steals: Howard 6 (Stinnett 2), South Plains 15 (Dawn 6). Blocked shots: Howard 2 (Stewart 2), South Plains 1 (Myatt 1). Turnovers: Howard 20, South Plains 15.