DAYTONA BEACH – The Angelo State women's basketball team kicked off the Daytona Beach Shootout with a win Tuesday morning, taking down Urbana 95-55.
The Belles (7-1) had their best offensive performance of the season with 95 points on 42.4 percent shooting. It was the most points Angelo State has scored in a single game since January 19, 2017, when they put up 105 points in a win over Western New Mexico.
They were led by De'Anira Moore, who posted her fourth straight double-double with a team-high 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Moore got the scoring going for the Belles in the game, rebounding her own miss for a put-back layup 30 seconds into the game. Maria Delgado followed with a three-pointer and the Belles quickly built a lead that they would hold for the entire game.
Delgado was one of four other Angelo State players besides Moore to score in double-figures, their highest total of the season. The Colombia native had a season-high 16, while Dezirae Hampton had 14 and both Asia Davis and Marquita Daniels scored 13 apiece. Davis's total was also a season-high.
The lead was pushed to double digits with just under four minutes left in the opening quarter, as Dezirae Hampton was fouled and knocked down a pair of free throws. Hampton had another solid game after winning LSC Offensive Player of the Week last week, scoring 14 points and pulling down eight rebounds. Hampton has reached the double-digit scoring mark in all but one game for the Belles this year.
ASU continued to widen the gap as the first quarter came to a close, with Mikayla Blount making a steal for an easy Essence Johnson bucket that put the Belles up 31-14 at the end of the opening period.
The lead was opened up to 20 points early in the second quarter on a jumper from Moore and got to its widest point of the first half with 3:04 left as Sidney Smith hit a three-pointer to put the Belles up by 24. At the end of the half, they were still leading by 23.
An 8-2 run to open the second half got the Belles to a 29-point lead, and they pushed past the 30-point mark on a layup from Catara Samuel. The lead continued to grow throughout the quarter and a layup from Dezirae Hampton just before the buzzer put Angelo State up 37 heading into the final period.
The lead got to its widest point of the game with 3:33 left in the fourth quarter, as a Davis jumper put the Belles up by 48. The Blue Knights scored the final eight points of the game, but ASU walked away with a 40-point win.
The Belles will close out the Daytona Beach shootout on Wednesday, taking on Montana State-Billings at 10 a.m. CST.
