By BRAD KEITH
TheFlashToday.com
ODESSA (February 23, 2017) — Tarleton used 18 points each by Mackenzie Hailey and Ikpeaku Iwobi to fight off 3-point happy UT-Permian Basin in a 67-58 Lone Star Conference women’s battle Thursday.
The Falcons started 6-9 from the arc and finished with 10 3-pointers but couldn’t handle Tarleton’s 1-2 punch in the paint. Iwobi scored the last four points of a quick 6-0 run by the TexAnns to begin the fourth quarter, stretching their lead to 55-45. They were ahead by at least seven the rest of the way.
Tarleton is locked into the No. 5 seed in the next week’s LSC Championship tournament in Allen, but first comes the regular season finale at West Texas A&M, a 79-51 winner over Texas A&M-Commerce Thursday. That locked up a top three seed for the WTAMU, leaving TAMUC fourth and in a first-round matchup with the TexAnns next week. TAMUC visits UTPB on Saturday.
Nieva Taito hit five 3-pointers and scored 17 points to give the Falcons a chance. They were 10-26 from the arc, where they outscored Tarleton 30-6.
But Tarleton hammered away inside with Hailey and Iwobi, and it was enough to withstand every Falcon charge. They also led Tarleton to a 31-23 rebounding advantage on a night when the teams combined for 44 turnovers, 23 of them by UTPB.
The Falcons pulled within one possession of the TexAnns four times in a back-and-forth third quarter, that theme continuing until the six straight points to begin the fourth finally gave Tarleton some breathing room.
Tarleton led most the way, but from the beginning it was a battle against the 11th place Falcons.
UTPB scored the first five points, but the TexAnns quickly answered with 12 straight, six of them by Hailey. The Falcons did trim their deficit to four on a late first quarter 3-pointer, and the TexAnns hit a free throw to lead 22-17 entering the second.
UTPB made started 6-9 from the arc, with its third triple in the opening four minutes of the second tying the game at 28-28. The Falcons even grabbed the lead twice, the last time off their seventh 3-pointer for a 33-32 edge.
But Hailey steadied the ship for Tarleton, putting the TexAnns back on top in the paint, Downes scored off a fast-break assist by Tiara Tatum and UTPB called timeout with Tarleton back on top for good. Freshman guard Trejouir Wilson came out of the break with the first Tarleton 3-pointer to make it a 7-0 run and a six-point lead before UTPB trimmed it to 39-35 at intermission.
Hailey had 12 at the break to go with five boards, while Iwobi had 11. Taito had nine first-half points for UTPB.
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