Lady Texans show grit in 62-55 loss to No. 13 Frank Phillips Monday in Borger

BORGER — The South Plains College women's basketball team battled a Frank Phillips squad unbeaten at home this season, but three Lady Plainsmen netting double figures proved to be too much as the Lady Texans fell to No. 13 Frank Phillips 62-55 Monday night.

"We're obviously disappointed in the loss, but Frank Phillips is a very good team, and it wasn't necessarily what we did bad, but a lot of it was what they did good," South Plains head coach Cayla Petree said. "They have two mid to high major players surrounded by shooters, and that's very difficult to guard and difficult to contain, and I thought that everyone who went in for us competed hard. There were a couple of plays we didn't finish, and with our limited depth our margin of error is very small."

Frank Phillip's Marlene Aniambosou and Kinsley Choate each finished with 17 points and combined for eight rebounds as the Lady Plainsmen improve to 18-3 on the year and 7-2 in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference. Kiara Shoals tallied 16 points, nine rebounds and a pair of assists of 35 minutes.

The Lady Plainsmen shot just 37.7 percent from the field and were 2 of 11 from the perimeter, but knocked down 20 of 26 attempts at the free throw line. Points in the paint were at a premium for Frank Phillips, netting 30 points inside and scored 12 second-chance points and 10 points off turnovers.

Freshman Mikayla Kuehne scored in double digits for the 12th time in a South Plains uniform, tallying a team-high 16 points in 40 minutes played, knocking down 6 of 12 attempts from the field and was 3 of 5 from the perimeter. Freshman Gabbie Green chipped in 10 points and grabbed four boards over 34 minutes, while Christina Baker bucketed eight points and snagged six rebounds. La'Praisjah Johnson and Maddie Dorris each had six points and Haleigh Hill finished with five.

South Plains shot 35.3 percent from the field and were 4 of 20 from 3. The Lady Texans won the rebound battle, corralling 33 boards leading to 20 points inside and also netted 17 points on second-chance opportunities.

"We're gaining valuable experience and showed some toughness on the road, but unfortunately we weren't able to pick this one up," Petree said. "I thought Haleigh Hill, Maddie Dorris, and Christina Baker really went in and did a did a good job defensively. Just over the course of the game, I was very pleased with their effort and the outcome of their play."

Sitting at 15-10 on the year and 2-7 in the WJCAC, the Lady Texans will look to get back in the win column on Thursday when they host Howard College at 5:45 p.m. at the Texan Dome. The game will be streaming live at spctexans.com.