Hunter's double-double leads top-ranked Lady Texans past Western Texas 75-52 Monday

LEVELLAND — Keke Hunter led all scorers with 22 points and 16 rebounds as the top-ranked South Plains College women's basketball team dismantled Western Texas 75-52 Monday at the Texan Dome.

With the win, South Plains improves to 26-2 on the season and 11-1 in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference. The Lady Texans will be off on Thursday before returning home next Monday to take on Clarendon at 5:45 p.m. at the Dome.

"I thought that we were pretty flat the first half, but a lot of credit goes to Western Texas who came out and played extremely hard," South Plains head coach Cayla Petree said. "They jumped out on us and we had some early turnovers which hurt us. We came out in the second half with a lot more energy, and like I've said all year we are definitely a momentum team, and how hard we play determines how well we play. As simple as that sounds, it's very true for this team."

Hunter finished 7 of 10 from the field as the Lady Texans shot a 48.2 percent clip against the Lady Westerners. Sophomore Gabbie Green recorded 17 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds for the Lady Texans while Sarah Shematsi poured in 13 points and grabbed five boards.

"Losing our last game helped us grow and figure out the things we didn't do right," Hunter said. "We need to work harder every day in practice, and we need to continue to focus on the things we are missing and get ready for the next two games we have left before the post-season."

South Plains dominated the glass, outrebounding Western Texas 37-16 inside. The Lady Texans forced 26 turnovers in the contest resulting in 25 points on the offensive end. Looking to create opportunities in the interior, South Plains poured in 42 points inside the paint and received 16 points from their bench against the Lady Westerners.

"This definitely wasn't our best game that we've played, and we left a bunch of things out there on the court," Green said. "We're glad we got the win, but we have a lot to improve on and have to work on the little things to make big things happen. We have so much to learn, and we believe that the game against New Mexico was our last loss of the season, and we're going to keep trying to get better and work as hard as we possibly can to finish this season the right way."

Western Texas shot 32 percent from the floor and just 5 of 21 from the 3-point line. Ashlan Smith led the Lady Westerners with 10 points and three rebounds, while Morgan Dial chipped in nine and Marta Casas Gimenez and Jaelyn Goodloe each finished with seven points.