#1 Lady Texans, Texans travel to Big Spring Thursday for conference showdown with Howard College

LEVELLAND — The South Plains College men's and women's basketball teams will make their third consecutive road trip in as many games on Thursday when they travel to Big Spring to take on Howard College.

The Lady Texans will tip at 5:45 p.m., followed by the men's game at 7:30. Both games will stream live at spctexans.com and will be broadcast live on KLVT Radio Levelland with Michael Wiiest on the call.

The Lady Texans sit atop the WJCAC as they come in with a perfect 23-0 record including a 7-0 mark in league play. Averaging over 80 points per game and shooting 50.1 percent from the floor, South Plains bested No. 17 Odessa 59-57 on Monday night to stay unbeaten as Ruth Koang beat the buzzer with a 10-foot jumper to down the Lady Wranglers.

In their first meeting on Dec. 4 in Levelland, the Lady Texans routed the Lady Hawks 73-41 in the conference opener. Asia McCoy led the way for South Plains with 21 points and 16 rebounds as the Lady Texans shot a 63 percent clip from the floor.

McCoy connected on 9 of 13 shots from the floor, snagging 10 boards on the defensive end as the Lady Texans outrebounded the Lady Hawks 46-26 on the glass. Ka'Lia Smith went off for 20 points and five rebounds as the 6-foot-1 freshman from Amarillo was 9-for-11 from the field for the Lady Texans. Caroline Germond chipped in 12 points, six steals, and four assists, netting 6 of 10 attempts from the floor over 28 minutes.

The Lady Hawks come in with a record of 5-17 on the year and 1-6 in league play. Howard is 3-6 on their home court this season and will look to snap a six-game losing streak come Thursday. Averaging just 49.7 points per game and shooing 32.2 percent from the field, Howard fell to Western Texas 62-42 in their last outing on Jan. 23 in Snyder.

The Texans come in as winners of four straight including a 68-65 victory over Odessa on Monday night. Averaging 71.5 points per game and shooting 42 percent from the field, South Plains is 2-2 away from home this season and are currently tied for second in the league with a 6-2 mark in the WJCAC.

In their first meeting in December, the Texans routed the Hawks 74-50 behind Benjamin Bayela's 21 points and four assists. Bayela connected on 8 of 14 shots from the field and was 4-for-8 from distance over 32 minutes. Sophomore Junior Farquhar chipped in 13 points and handed out three assists for South Plains, bucketing 4 of 12 shots from the floor and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe in 27 minutes of action. South Plains shot a 46.6 percent clip from the floor including a 45 percent mark from the 3-point line in the second half.

Howard comes in with a record of 13-9 on the season and 3-5 in conference play, including a 6-2 record on their home court. Averaging 77.1 points per game and shooting 44.3 percent from the floor, the Hawks have won three of their last four, most recently a 66-59 victory over New Mexico Military Institute on Monday.