Oklahoma Panhandle State University

The two teams are both in the Heartland Conference and they had met earlier in the season when the Lady Aggies earned a 67-62 overtime win in Odessa.

The first half began as a tight battle and a Kariz Bioni free throw gave the Lady Aggies a 10-7 advantage with just under thirteen minutes on the first half clock. At 9:23, OPSU was ahead 14-12, and at 7:10 OPSU freshman Chaney Latham nailed a long range three-pointer to put OPSU up 19-15.

Playing well as a team, OPSU extended their lead to 25-17 with just under five minutes on the clock with both squads working hard. The Falcons did their best to stay in the game and at the halftime break OPSU was ahead 31-27.

In the second half, things continued to be competitive and a Bioni three-point bomb put the Lady Aggies up 39-33 near the 15:30 mark, and another Latham three with 15:05 to go put OPSU ahead 42-33. With 13:00 on the game clock, Latham popped yet another long three and the Lady Aggies went up 47-38, and with 11:40 on the clock their advantage was 52-40.

With 6:30 remaining, the Falcons narrowed the OPSU lead to 58-51 and near the five minute mark, OPSU led by just five points at 60-55. However, the Lady Aggies were not to be denied. They continued to display strong teamwork in the closing minutes and also got the job done at the free throw line to earn the 71-60 victory.

Lady Aggie head coach Brad Vanden Boogaard liked what he saw from his team and noted that several of his players seized the opportunity to get their jobs done.

Latham scored 14 for OPSU (12 of them coming from long range), Cassie Wood scored 11, and the fast moving Bioni scored ten to go with five rebounds and three assists. Callie Schafer did not score, but worked very hard under the basket and pulled down eight rebounds.

Tammy Acosta of the Falcons led all scorers with 18 points, and with the loss, her team fell to 5-3 in league play and 11-9 overall.

With the win, the Lady Aggies upped their league record to 3-5 in the conference and 6-13 overall. They will be on the road until February 11 when they host the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith.