Texas A&M-Texarkana women’s basketball coach Kevin Dobbs wasn’t wearing a earring Thursday night at the Patterson Student Center. He was disappointed after losing to the University of the Southwest Mustangs.
Dobbs had promised his girls a change in appearance if they beat the Mustangs (5-9, 2-3), but Texarkana lost, 77-66.
The Eagles (3-14, 0-5) led briefly in the first minute of the game. However, Southwest built a 21-point cushion in the second quarter of the RRAC contest. TAMU-T rallied to make it 44-32 at intermission with freshman Naomi Tekleab scoring 14 of her team-high 21 points.
Texarkana actually had a rare advantage in height and outrebounded the Mustangs, 51-47. Houston junior Haylee Washington led the Eagles with 11 rebounds, while Tekleab pulled down 10. Washington also had six of Texarkana’s 15 steals.
Mustangs defense shuts down TAMU-T shooters
Mi’lan Francis-Miller and freshman Taylor Howell contributed 12 points each for the Eagles. However, Texarkana’s overall shooting was cold (32 percent from the field, 21 percent on 3-pointers). The Eagles also struggled at the charity stripe (4 of 10).
The Mustangs shot an impressive 50 percent in the first half, finishing at 45. They only shot 12 treys, making six.
Junior Harlei Haceesa led the winners with 24 points. Mykal Thomas and Rhianna Bortoli scored 14 each, with Martinique Larvingo adding 12.