#5 Lady Thunderbirds edge Lady Texans 60-48 Thursday

LEVELLAND — The South Plains College women's basketball team would take a one-point lead into the locker room at the midway point, but a third quarter surge from the fifth-ranked New Mexico Junior College women's basketball team would be enough in the end as the Lady Texans fell to NMJC 60-48 Thursday at the Texan Dome.

South Plains moves to 4-4 in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference and be off on Monday before hosting Western Texas at 5:45 p.m. at the Dome, on Feb. 15.

"We didn't share the ball as well as we have been, and we didn't take advantage of matchups, and that's going to be the result," South Plains head coach Ara Baten said. "You can't play individual basketball at this level, and you cannot fail to understand what's in front of you. New Mexico has a really good team, and we're capable of playing much better basketball. We were right there in the fourth quarter, and we need to start to rebound better and play better on the offensive end."

Bella Belong led South Plains with 13 points and nine boards over 25 minutes, connecting on six of seven shots from the field. Yendrie Acosta and Jennifer Silva each finished with eight points for South Plains, while Isabella Jaramillo finished with 10 points, five boards, and five assists.

Amyah Sutton led New Mexico with 15 points and four rebounds, while Cacia Antonio and Pania Davis each finished with 14 points.