Lady Texans go cold in second half, fall to Cisco 55-46

South Plains (3-6) made 12-of-26 (.462) shots in the first half and held a two-point advantage at the break, 29-27.  But the Lady Texans went cold in the second half, making only five-of-27 (.185) attempts from the field.

The Lady Texans got their first field goal of the back half after nearly nine minutes had ticked off the clock when Alexius Dawn swiped the ball away from Cisco's Shaquicia Johnson and raced down the court for a layup.

Despite the lack of made shots, South Plains was still firmly in the game as Dawn's layup knotted the score up at 34.

Jasmine Brainard tied the game up for the sixth time, 39-39, with 8:28 to go in the contest when she made a move on the baseline and got a reverse layup to fall. 

Six consecutive points by the Lady Wranglers gave Cisco a comfortable lead at 45-39.  At that point, the Lady Texans had made only 2-of-15 shots, but then jolted back to life.

TaSheena Moore grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back to make it a four-point game.  Moments later, Dawn snagged another steal and ran it up the court and, suddenly, it was a two-point game with plenty of time left on the clock. 

After drawing a foul, Rafeegah Fataar made 1-of-2 from the foul line and with 3:07 to go in the game.  Brainard gave the Lady Texans a 46-45 advantage finishing off a nice pass from Mia Ochoa.

Cisco scored on their next three possessions, forcing the Lady Texans to foul with the clock now under a minute.  The Lady Wranglers made all four of their free throws down the stretch and went on to earn the nine-point victory and improve to 5-6 on the season.

Brainard made 6-of-11 shots and finished with a team high 18 points.  Dawn finished the game with nine points and six steals.

The Lady Texans now look to regroup as their conference opener looms.  South Plains will host Western Texas College Saturday at 1 p.m. in both teams first WJCAC game of the season.  The Lady Westerners are 3-4 on the season.

South Plains (3-6)
Alexius Dawn 4-14 0-0 9, Desiree Cruz 2-3 1-2 5, Tasheena Moore 1-11 2-6 4, Briana Brigham 2-3 0-0 5, Ijeoma Nzekwe 0-1 0-0 0, Jasmine Brainard 6-11 6-6 18, Rafeegah Fataar 2-6 1-5 5, Rayvon Christian 0-2 0-0 0, Mia Ochoa 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 17-53 10-19 46

Cisco JC (5-6)
Nyariak Duop 0-8 4-4 4, Zavier Landry 0-1 0-4 0, Zully Martinez 2-7 1-2 7, Samira Rodriguez 1-3 0-0 2, Alyssa Crockett 0-0 0-0 0, Kalinka DeRoche 2-2 0-0 4, Khala Riley 7-17 5-6 21, Emily Perez 0-0 0-0 0, Jefferyonna Holley 2-5 1-2 5, Danielle Richardson 4-8 2-2 10, Shaquicia Johnson 1-2 0-2 2. Totals 19-53 13-22 55

FG%: South Plains .321, Cisco JC .358. 3-pt FG:South Plains 2-11 (Dawn 1-7, Moore 0-2, Brigham 1-1, Ochoa 0-1), Cisco JC 4-20 (Duop 0-6, Martinez 2-6, Rodriguez 0-1, Riley 2-4, Holley 0-3). Rebounds: South Plains 39 (Moore 11), Cisco JC 29 (Riley 7). Fouls South Plains 20, Cisco JC 20. Fouled out: Brainard Fataar . Technical: none. Assists: South Plains 7 (Moore 2, Brigham 2), Cisco JC 7 (Landry 2, Rodriguez 2). Steals: South Plains 8 (Dawn 6), Cisco JC 12 (Rodriguez 3). Blocked shots: South Plains 5 (Fataar 3), Cisco JC 3 (Duop 1, Rodriguez 1, DeRoche 1). Turnovers: South Plains 22, Cisco JC 18.