No. 3 Lady Texans oust Connors State 72-45 Saturday

WARNER, OK — The third-ranked South Plains College women's basketball team improved to 2-0 on the season Saturday, defeating Connors State 72-45 behind a combined 28 points from Viktoria Ivanova and Debora Reis.

The Lady Texans will be back on the road for a two-game stint next week beginning with a trip to top-ranked Trinity Valley Community College at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 27, followed by a matchup at Kilgore College on Jan. 28 at 5 p.m.

"I thought execution got better as the game went along and we executed better than yesterday," South Plains head coach Ara Baten said. "We got the ball from one side of the floor to the other which puts pressure on the defense, and we committed to getting post touches and right now that's the way we need to play."

Reis netted double figures for the second-consecutive game with 14 points against the Cowgirls, 10 coming in the second quarter as the Lady Texans led 35-21 at the midway point. Ivanova also finished with 14 points and recorded her straight game in double figures, dropping in nine of her final total in the second half.

"Every game is different and you never know where you will have an advantage, and it's important for us to recognize where our favorable matchups are and try to exploit those matchups," Baten said. "We have to find ways as a team to take advantage of those matchups whether they be inside our outside."

Denista Petrova poured in 11 points for South Plains, nine coming in the final two quarters while Serena Waters finished with nine points and sophomore Grace Hunter chipped in seven. Jordan Brown netted six points for the Lady Texans, four coming in the first 20 minutes while Ewa Kielar tallied five points, all coming in the second half.

"The first thing is recognizing the importance of getting the ball inside," Baten said. "The more you enter the ball in there the softer the defense on the perimeter gets, and it helps those kids get better opportunities as the game goes along because the focus goes inside and opens up opportunities on the perimeter for us."