University of Texas Arlington
Utah State
WBB: Mavs fall to Aggies 93-83 at CPC
1/24/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 24, 2013
By Michael Eldridge | UTAMavs.com
ARLINGTON, Texas -- A first half double-double from Desherra Nwanguma was not enough Thursday night as UT Arlington lost to Utah State 93-83 at College Park Center. The 83 points were UTA's highest point total of the season.
UTA attempted to come back from a 22-point deficit in the second half and closed the game to within three points with under a minute to go. The Aggies would hit back-to-back 3-pointers to pull away to clinch their third consecutive win.
"It was two completely different halves," UT Arlington coach Samantha Morrow said. "The last 18 minutes we played like we are capable of we are playing. We became much more aggressive, pressed, and put a little bit of havoc on them. I thought our posts played well tonight. It is a little frustrating though as we got back to within three and then they hit two 3-pointers."
The Mavericks dropped to 1-7 in the Western Athletic Conference and 3-15 overall in their seventh consecutive loss. Nwanguma, who had her second double-double of the season, had 11 points and 10 rebounds in the first half and finished with 15 points, tying a season high, and season-high 13 rebounds.
Nwanguma was joined by Laila Suleiman and Aron Garcia who also added double-doubles. Suleiman finished with 14 points and a season-high 11 assists while Garcia added 15 points and 10 rebounds. It was also the first time this season UTA has had five players with double-digits as Rosalyn Thorpe came off the bench to add 10 and Malaika Green put in 14.
"In practice today me and (Nwanguma) have been working on splitting the trap a little bit more," Suleiman said of the second half success. "Their guards came out a lot and we were able to split the trap."
Utah State opened up the game scoring seven consecutive, but UTA answered quickly. Aaron Garcia Joined Nwanguma to complete a 9-2 run that tied the game at 10. However, the Aggies answered right back with a 9-2 run of their own. Jenna Johnson was 3-6 from the floor for the Aggies in the first half and 6-6 from the free throw line to lead all scorers with 12 points in the half. The Aggies took a 47-27 lead into the break.
The Aggies controlled the momentum early in the second half but the Mavs made a run with less than 10 minutes to play. UTA scored 10 consecutive points, two of which coming on and-1's, on the way to a 16-3 run. Laila Suleiman brought the lead down to just six points hitting two free throws and then the Mavericks first 3-pointer of the game.
UT Arlington is back in action on Saturday night to complete its two-game home stand. The Mavericks host the Spartans of San Jose State is 6 p.m. at College Park Center.
