SAN ANGELO – The No. 24 Angelo State women's basketball team held UTPB to just nine second quarter points on its way to a 83-64 win in Odessa on Thursday evening.
The Belles improved to 19-4 and 14-3 in the LSC by forcing 25 UTPB turnovers and turning it into 33 points. The Falcons (6-19, 4-13 LSC) were out rebounding 48-35 and outscored 32-12 in the pain. ASU recorded 14 steals, four blocks and 14 assists. The 11-game win streak is one away from tying last season's streak of 12.
"Give credit to UTPB because they shot extremely well from the 3-point line tonight but we were able to stick together," Angelo State head women's basketball coach Renae Shippy said. "Mikayla Blount had a great performance off the bench and our senior leadership on both ends of the court from Ekiya Gray, Marquita Daniels and Keanna Kelly was outstanding. I couldn't be more proud of different players stepping up and producing tonight in a very tough environment."
Four Belles scored in double figures as Marquita Daniels tied a career high with 29 points. The senior also had six steals, three assists and three rebounds. Keanna Kelly added 14 points on the night and Mikayla Blount hit four 3-pointer for 12 points. Ekiya Gray recorded her third double-double of the season with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
The first quarter featured four lead changes and two ties all coming in the first three minutes of the quarter. Tied at six a piece, a layup by Kelly sparked an 8-0 run highlighted by one of Blount's four 3-pointers. Daniels drained a 3-pointer at the 2:51 mark to increase the lead to 19-11 but UTPB answered with back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the advantage to 19-17. The two teams only scored two points each over the final 2:04 as ASU took a lead of 21-19.
The Belles opened the second quarter scoring eight of the first nine points. UTPB responded with five straight points to trim the deficit to 31-28 but it would be the final points of the quarter for the Falcons. Consecutive 3-pointers by Blount and Daniels pushed the lead to nine followed by back-to-back layups from Daniels and Kynese Davis to take a 41-28 lead into halftime.
ASU continued to roll in the third quarter opening the half with a 15-2 run. Kelly hit one of her two 3-pointers followed by an old fashioned 3-point play by Gray. Daniels took over from there scoring six straight points. The run was capped off with a free throw from De'Anira Moore to increase the advantage to 56-30. A 3-pointer by Blount gave ASU its largest lead of the night at 64-37 but UTPB would score the final bucket of the quarter to make it 64-39.
ASU continued to lead throughout the fourth quarter by at least 20. The Falcons trimmed the lead to 20 twice by 3-pointers by Kelly and Gray slowed UTPB. Dearria Watson was able to score on a pair of free throws and Blount capped off the night with her fourth 3-pointer to make the final 83-61.
The Belles will head to Canyon to face No. 25 West Texas A&M on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m.
