Seattle University's student newspaper since 1933

The Spectator

Seattle University's student newspaper since 1933

The Spectator

Seattle University's student newspaper since 1933

The Spectator

Women’s Hoops Narrowly Beats Texas State

    Last Thursday’s thrilling overtime win against Texas State could have been the story of starting forward Kacie Sowell’s unexpected absence. A precautionary game time decision to rest Sowell’s sprained ankle left the Seattle University women’s basketball team without their leading scorer
    and rebounder.

    “I didn’t know if Kacie was going to play or not.. We let it fluster us,” said senior point guard Daidra Brown.

    Seattle U fell behind early, falling short on both ends of the court. The Redhawks were unable to contain Texas State in the first half, allowing them to score 39 points on nearly 60 percent shooting. On the offensive end, the Redhawks were slow getting into a rhythm and were unable to penetrate Texas State’s defense. Seattle U went into halftime trailing 39-25.

    “They were just on fire early and obviously, we were missing [Sowell] inside, and it took a while for our team to adjust,” said head coach
    Joan Bonvicini.

    Two bright spots during the half were senior forwards Maggie McCarthy and Brenda Adhiambo. McCarthy had an early three-pointer and later added several field goals while Adhiambo’s strength and energy in the key brought in three offensive boards. The two kept Seattle U from being completely overrun.

    “We just weren’t the aggressors… We needed to change that, so we made some adjustments at half time,” Bonvicini said.

    Those changes came in the form of a full court press and a renewed sense of urgency plus stellar second half performances by Brown and junior guard Sylvia Shephard.

    Brown capitalized on several breakaways and was otherwise on fire from the field, going 7-8 in the second half while Shephard added an impressive 17 second half points.

    With the momentum shifting in Seattle U’s favor, Texas State’s lead slowly dwindled. With 7:46 left in the game, Adhiambo’s offensive rebound (one of her seven total on the night) and subsequent lay-up tied the game, 59-59.

    A last second floater in the lane by Texas State’s Ayriel Anderson nearly stole the game for the Roadrunners but the teams headed to overtime tied 66 all.

    In five minutes of overtime, a three-pointer from the right wing by Seattle U’s Ashley Ward proved to be the clinching basket, allowing the Redhawks to squeak out a 73-71 victory.

    “This was a tale of two halves… I’m just proud to be the coach here, to be the coach of this team. We have winners here and they believe in themselves,” Bonvicini said.

    The Redhawks remain in first place in the WAC and are guaranteed a top three seed in the upcoming WAC tournament. The Redhawks’ final regular season games come this Saturday at 4:00 p.m. in Connolly Center against the University of Idaho.

    The editor may be reached at [email protected]

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