#2 Lady Texans outlast #6 New Mexico Junior College 65-58 in overtime Monday

LEVELLAND — Ruth Koang tallied 15 points and seven boards as the second-ranked South Plains College women's basketball team outlasted #6 New Mexico Junior College 65-58 in overtime Monday at the Texan Dome.

The Lady Texans shot over 41 percent from the floor and had three players net double figures on the offensive end as they improve to 20-0 on the year and 3-0 in the WJCAC. The Lady Texans will be off on Thursday before returning to action on Monday when they host Midland College on Hockley County School Employees Credit Union Night at the Dome.

"We kind of hit a low in the fourth quarter but held our composure defensively," South Plains head coach Cayla Petree said. "Every night it's a possession battle, and when we had to get stops late in the fourth quarter, we did a great job executing matchups and trying to attack. I was really proud of the discipline they showed and their overall confidence and their mindset in overtime. Our girls went out and made the plays it takes to win these types of games."

Trailing 53-51 with under a minute to play, South Plains' Ka'Lia Smith notched the game at 53 apiece with a pair of free throws with 33 ticks left. Needing a stop on the defensive end, the Lady Texans forced a turnover with five seconds to play. Following a timeout from Petree, South Plains got a final shot off as Sarah Shematsi put up a 3 from the top of the key which would hit the side of the rim to send the game into overtime.  

The Lady Texans fired out to a 57-53 lead in extra time as freshman Ashala Moseberry converted as the rim with 3:01 to go. Oceane Robin would then extend South Plains lead to 59-54 with a runner off the glass with 2:29 to play. Caroline Germond would knock down a pair of free throws to just over a minute to play to put the Lady Texans up six and ice the game to keep the Lady Texans unbeaten on the year.

"I was trusting my teammates and kept confidence in them the entire game," said Robin, who finished with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists. "We prepared for this game for two weeks and prepared hard and I'm happy we were tough enough to hang on and win this game."

Robin finished 6 of 12 from the floor over 35 minutes while Koang was 5 of 8 from the field and 5-for-11 from the free throw line over 18 minutes. Shematsi chipped in 11 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and a pair of steals for South Plains while Germond netted seven points, six rebounds and handed out three assists.