Jan. 1, 2008

It wasn't how the Lady Broncs wanted to spend New Year's Day with a 60-40 setback over Oral Roberts and their first loss at the UTPA Fieldhouse.

The Lady Broncs dropped their overall record to 8-7 while the Golden Eagles improved to 9-5 on the season.

The Golden Eagles jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead following a jumper by Rachel Watman at the 16:38 mark. LeKeisha Gray (Muskogee, OK/Butler County C.C.) put the Lady Broncs first points on the scoreboard with 16:20 left in the first half.

Gray finished with a game-high 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, 3-of-6 from three-point range and 1-of-2 from the charity stripe in 35 minutes of action.

Oral Roberts continued to add to their lead as they held a 12-point advantage, making the score 19-7 but UTPA would go on a 10-0 run cutting the Golden Eagles lead by six.

A jumper by Aleeya Grigsby (Nacogdoches, TX/Nacogdoches H.S.) at the buzzer would put the Lady Broncs within one, 28-27 heading into intermission.

The Golden Eagles would open the second half on a 12-0 run putting the Lady Broncs in a 40-29 deficit with 13:46 left to go in the game. UTPA struggled to find the bottom of the net as ORU led by as many as 26 at the 4:15 mark.

Several buckets by the Golden Eagles would secure their ninth victory of the season and give the Lady Broncs their first home loss of the season.

Oral Roberts held the Lady Broncs to 26.3 percent (5-of-19) shooting in the second half and 34.1 percent (15-of-44) for the game.

Rose Esther Jean (Missouri City, TX/Hightower H.S.) collected six points and two steals while Grigsby added a team-high eight boards.

Three Golden Eagles finished in double-figures, including Mariana Camargo, who finished with 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting, to go along with four rebounds, eight assists, and four steals.

The Lady Broncs will have their work ahead of them as they will face 19th ranked University of Texas on Friday (Jan. 4) at the Frank Erwin Center with tip-off slated for 7 p.m.

UTPA Sports Information