“Anytime you’re up big, the other team should make some kind of run, and they did,” said head coach Joan Bonvicini. “But we made some adjustments defensively, and that’s really what gave us the big lead back again. It was just us buckling down defensively and identifying their shooters. Once we stopped (Danesia) Williamson and (Stefanie) Gilbreath a little bit and controlled the boards and controlled the tempo again, we pulled away.”
Brenda Adhiambo (Mombasa, Kenya) and Sylvia Shephard (Alta Loma, Calif.) drove in back-to-back layups to give SU the early lead, 4-0, but two straight NMSU three’s tied the game, 6-6, at 15:22.
Following the tie, Seattle U went on a 17-0 run to lead by as many as 17, 23-6, at 7:01, with significant contributions by Shephard and Taelor Ross (Vancouver, Wash.)
A free-throw shot by Kelsie Rozendaal and a layup by Stefanie Gilbreath dropped the SU lead to 14, but the Redhawks followed with a 13-3 run to lead by as many as 24, 36-12, with 1:08 left in the first half. The teams traded free throw shots and SU led by 23, 38-15, at the halftime buzzer.
SU kept a lead of more than 15 points for the first four and a half minutes of the second half, but the Aggies came within 12, 44-32, at 15:08 following an 11-2 run. NMSU reduced the deficit to as few as eight two different times near the 10-minute mark, but adjustments by the Redhawks kept the Aggies at bay.
SU extended their lead back out to as many as 22 three more times in the final two minutes of the contest. As Seattle U led by 22 with 1:17 remaining following a layup by Shelby Dougherty (Fullerton, Calif.), New Mexico State’s Abby Scott hit two straight three-pointers to make the final margin 16, as the Redhawks won, 78-62.
Shephard led all players with 21 points, also adding five rebounds, two assists, and two steals, shooting 9-for-10 from the field. Three other Redhawks scored in double figures, including Kacie Sowell (Ventura, Calif.) with 17 points, Daidra Brown (Seattle, Wash.) with 13 points, and Ashley Ward (Irvine, Calif.) with 10. Ross grabbed a career high eight rebounds.
“Sylvia did well, she had an unbelievable shooting percentage, and still rebounded,” said Bonvicini. “She’s just solid and she’s really starting to put things together.”
Gilbreath led the Aggies with 15 points, with Danesia Williamson and Sasha Weber also scoring in double figures, adding 13 and 12 points respectively.
As a team, SU outrebounded NMSU, 35-31, also leading in assists, 20-9. Steals were nearly even, with New Mexico State holding the narrow advantage, 11-10. Seattle U shot 56.9 percent from the field (29-for-51), as well as 66.7 percent from behind the three-point line (4-for-6) and 16-for-19 from the free-throw line (84.2 percent). The Aggies shot just 30.0 percent from the field and 30.6 percent from behind the three-point line.
Seattle U hits the road next weekend for their final regular season road trip, facing Louisiana Tech on Thursday Feb. 14 at 5 p.m. PT and UT Arlington on Saturday Feb. 16 at 4 p.m. PT.