Lady Texans Surge Late to Defeat Howard 83-76 on Sophomore Night

LEVELLAND, TX - The sophomores set the tone early as Isabel Joao and Dilangue Cruz scored the opening buckets to give South Plains a 5-4 edge. The Lady Texans were flawless at the free throw line in the first quarter, knocking down all seven attempts to help build a 23-14 lead after one. Cruz had a clean look from beyond the arc at the buzzer but could not convert as SPC carried a nine point advantage into the second quarter.

The free throw streak ended midway through the second when Signe Nordvik missed a pair from the stripe, but she quickly responded with an offensive rebound and putback to regain momentum. South Plains found rhythm offensively with sharp cuts and strong drives to the basket, putting together an 8-0 run that energized the Texan Dome. The physical back and forth pace added intensity on both ends as neither team backed down.

In the third quarter, Nordvik and Cruz connected on back to back three pointers to push SPC ahead 46-38. Howard answered with a three of its own and slowly chipped away. At the media timeout, South Plains led 46-41 amid visible frustration from the sideline as the Lady Texans had been whistled for three fouls while Howard had yet to be called for one. With 2:25 remaining in the third, Howard hit a three to tie the game, and at the 1:15 mark took its first lead since early in the opening quarter.

Daniela Gongo responded calmly with two free throws to even the score at 50. Nordvik later drilled a deep three to knot the game again at 53. Through three quarters the free throw line was a major storyline, with Howard shooting 11 of 13 and SPC 14 of 16. South Plains trailed 55-53 entering the final period.

The Lady Texans came out firing in the fourth quarter on both ends of the floor. After falling behind by six early, SPC mounted a decisive push to reclaim the lead 70-66 with four minutes remaining. With 1:29 left, Maya Braxton-Young split a pair at the line to extend the lead before Howard answered with one of two free throws to make it 78-72.

A turnover gave Howard another opportunity, but the Hawks could not capitalize. Gongo was fouled with one minute remaining and calmly sank both free throws to push the lead to eight. Howard was forced to foul again, sending Gongo back to the line where she remained perfect, finishing 11 of 11 from the stripe and scoring a team high 25 points off the bench.

In the final seconds, Braxton-Young added another free throw and Isabel Joao secured a key offensive rebound to seal the 83-76 victory.

Gongo led South Plains with 25 points and two rebounds. Isabel Joao recorded a dominant double double with 18 points and 20 rebounds, while Angelina Joao added 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Lady Texans shot 41 percent from the field, 30 percent from three point range and 79 percent from the free throw line. SPC controlled the boards with 46 rebounds, dished out 18 assists, forced 13 turnovers and scored 27 points off the bench.

South Plains will travel Thursday to close out conference play before opening the Region Tournament next week in Odessa.