WICHITA FALLS, Texas (Nov. 11, 2016) –
Grace Mitchell notched a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds in her first game as a Pioneer, while
Deja Pointer added 11 points and
Andrea Mapua and
Alexis Nezianya each scored 10 in a 59-42 season-opening win for Texas Woman's University against Texas A&M International Friday evening during the first game of the Ashbrook Classic hosted by Midwestern State.
TWU (1-0) held TAMIU (0-1) to 28-percent shooting from the floor and outrebounded the Dustdevils 49-37. The Pioneers were 21-of-58 on their field goals with all but three of their buckets coming off an assist.
To begin the contest, the Pioneers allowed two field goals by the Dustdevils before Mitchell connected on a free throw three-and-a-half minutes in and
Bri'anna Gray knocked down a jumper along with a layup to give TWU their first lead. During the last four minutes of the first period, the Pioneers outscored TAMIU 13-2, led by five points from Mapua and four from Nezianya, for an 18-8 TWU lead.
Pointer opened quarter two with a three-pointer, and Mitchell converted on a jumper and layup to put the Pioneers up 25-10. A layup and three by the Dustdevils narrowed the margin to 10, but Nezianya answered with a pair of layups and
Cienna Rodriguez delivered an and-one to double up TAMIU, 32-16, at the 2:08 mark. The Pioneers closed out the first half on a 5-0 run to head into the locker room with a 37-16 advantage.
The Dustdevils pieced together a 10-2 within the first minutes of the third quarter to pull within 39-26, but back-to-back three-pointers by Rodriguez and Mapua made it a 45-26 ballgame. Buckets by Pointer and Nezianya extended the lead to 51-29 with 3:20 to play, and the teams ended the quarter with the same 22-point margin, 54-32.
A layup by Mitchell 90 seconds into the fourth quarter handed the Pioneers their largest lead of the game at 57-32. TAMIU scored eight straight to cut the gap to 57-40 with just over three minutes on the clock before TWU closed out the contest with the 17-point victory.
The Pioneers conclude play in the Ashbrook Classic Saturday with a 6 p.m. game against Adams State.
