Dec. 30, 2004
Box Score
DENTON, Texas - Krystal Buchanan connected on all six of her free throw attempts in the game's final 1:19 as Texas-Arlington rallied from a six-point second half deficit in defeating North Texas 59-55 Thursday evening at the Super Pit.
The win improved the Mavs to 5-5 on the season and put an end to a three-game losing streak. The Mean Green dropped to 5-6 with the loss. UTA finished the season with a 3-0 mark against teams from the Sun Belt conference with victories over Arkansas-Little Rock, New Mexico State and UNT.
UTA seemed to be in control of the game in the second half as Rola Ogunoye scored the Mavs first five points in helping to open up a 10-point lead. UNT kept chipping away and went on a 15-5 run to tie the score at 40-40 with 8:36 remaining.
Still shocked by the run, UTA did not immediately respond as the Mean Green would push its lead to 46-40 just moments later. Ogunoye sparked the resurgence of the Mavs offense with a basket inside and Terra Wallace added a pair of free throws. Erica Howard would push the UNT lead back to four points before Tabitha Wesley hit one free throw, Ashley Bobb hit a jumper and Wallace hit two more free throws to give UTA a 49-48 lead. UTA would push its lead to three points following a Mean Green turnover as Buchanan hit a streaking Ogunoye who beat everyone down the floor.
Buchanan would be the difference down the stretch as she matched each UNT basket with a pair of free throws down the stretch. As a team, UTA went 13-for-16 (.813) from the charity stripe in the second half.
With UTA ahead by two and only a handful of ticks on the clock, both teams exchanged turnovers before UTA finally got the ball into the hands of Buchanan who hit a pair of free throws.
Both teams struggled to get going offensively in the opening moments before UNT got on the board first with 17:43 to play. That would be the only UNT lead until the second half as the Mavs would go on a 17-2 run to open up a 17-4 lead at the 10:03 mark.
The runs was started by the play of Ogunoye and Bobb inside as the duo combined for the first seven UTA points. The guards would then take over as Tabitha Wesley and Terra Wallace would hit three-pointers.
The Mean Green were not to be outdone as they followed the Mavs run with a 12-3 run of their own to pull with three points at 20-17. Wesley stopped that run with her second triple of the half and Wallace would follow a few minutes later to help push the lead back to five points. Wallace would then connect on a driving layup and Ogunoye would take a lob feed from Buchanan for the final points of the first half and send the teams to recess with UTA ahead 30-23.
Ogunoye led all scorers with 19 points. She also added nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Wallace reached double figures for the ninth time this season with 15 points. Bobb recorded her first career double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Erika Bobo led UNT with 15 points.
The Mavs return to action on Jan. 2 when they take on TCU. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum in Fort Worth.
