Feb. 14, 2013
Final Stats
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By Michael Eldridge | UTAMavs.com
ARLINGTON, Texas - A career-high 27 points for Desherra Nwanguma propelled UT Arlington to its first home win of the season by defeating Idaho 60-58 Thursday night at College Park Center.
The Mavericks held the lead for much of the second half after going into the break with just their fourth halftime lead of the season. A late rally saw the Vandals close the gap to within two points and then a 3-pointer attempt by Idaho bounced off the rim to clinch the UTA win.
The win came amidst a mid-week coaching change that saw the Mavericks former coach Samantha Morrow resign after six seasons with the team. Karen Blair was named the interim head coach for the Mavericks and said that the team took it as an opportunity to come together for the game.
'This team is so resilient and has been through so much this week," Blair said. "They came in with focus and determination and I give them credit for what they did today."
Nwanguma's 27 points were the team's highest individual point total for UTA since Malaika Green scored 28 against Memphis on Nov. 21. Laila Suleiman added 14 points and Aron Garcia grabbed 10 rebounds.
"We came together as a team and talked and decided that we are going to work hard and not let it affect us," Nwanguma said. "We said we were going to play for ourselves and just keep going."
A back-and-forth opening half saw neither team gain momentum to pull away from one another. The Vandals opened up the game with back-to-back 3-pointers following Nwanguma's opening bucket. Idaho would score six consecutive points to pull away again, but the Mavs responded quickly. UTA would score 10 of the games next 15 points to tie the game up and Nwanguma would get hot from inside.
Nwanguma put in 15 opening half points and at one point had a run in which she would score 8-of-10 UTA points.
The Mavericks closed out the first half strong following a Laila Suleiman 3-pointer. With just seconds remaining, Kiara Parker grabbed the rebound and converted on a layup at the buzzer to give the Mavericks a 29-27 lead.
UTA opened up the second half with momentum on its side. The Mavericks made runs of seven points and six points to help pull its largest lead of the game to eight points. The Vandals then charged back with two 3-pointers and then closed the gap to within just four points with two minutes remaining.
After Suleiman hit 1-of-2 free throws the Vandals had an opportunity to win the game. As time winded down Idaho had an open look from the right corner that bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
The Mavericks look to continue its run on Saturday at home by hosting Seattle U at College Park Center. Tip off is schedule for 6 p.m.
