Women's Basketball Defeats Texarkana in Thrilling Finish

SAN ANTONIO (Nov. 22, 2024) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) women's basketball team downed Texas A&M University-Texarkana (TAMUT) 66-63 after a back-and-forth fourth quarter on Thursday night. The Saints improve to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC). The Eagles drop to 0-5 overall and 0-3 in conference. 

History

The Saints were 4-4 against the Eagles prior to the game.

Basics

Both squads shot under 30 percent from the field in the first quarter. The Eagles outscored the Saints 12-9 and Alexandra Westerdijk Martin had three rebounds. The Saints responded in the second quarter by marking 26 points. The defense limited Texarkana to 38.5 percent shooting and Julia Plata put up 12 points. Desiree Rogers followed with six points and the Saints hit 7-of-8 free throws. The Saints took a 35-26 lead to the break. 

The Eagles inched closer to the lead in the third quarter. They hit 7-of-10 from the field and created eight turnovers. Plata continued her impressive shooting with six points and Martin added three more rebounds. The Eagles also outscored the Saints in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough to complete a comeback. OLLU trailed by one point with under a minute left in the game. Carlea Owens made a jump shot to give the Saints the permanent lead. The Eagles fouled with six seconds left and Isabella Jaramillo made two important free throws to grow the advantage to three points. Texarkana missed a jump shot as time ran out. The difference in the game was 11 second chance points by the Saints, backed by 83.3 percent shooting from the charity stripe. 

Offensive/defensive standouts

Plata led the Saints with 24 points. Jaramillo assisted on four plays and Martin finished with 10 rebounds. 

Gigi Waddell led Texarkana with 14 points. Kayla Williams totaled six rebounds and Chioma Treasure Emeh had five assists. 

Inside the box

OLLU combined for 19-of-52 shooting for 36.5 percent, 8-of-20 from three-point range for 40 percent and 20-of-24 from the free-throw line for 83.3 percent. Texarkana shot 25-of-58 for 43.1 percent, 3-of-8 three-pointers for 37.5 percent, and 10-of-16 from the free-throw line for 62.5 percent.

The Saints grabbed 26 rebounds, while TAMUT collected 28.

Hear from Head Coach Tanya Ray and watch highlights. 

Up next

The Saints host Jarvis Christian University on Saturday at 1 p.m.