SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Jan. 11, 2024) - An impressive career high performance at the line from Ashley Ingram helped the Texas Woman's basketball team secure the 76-63 victory over St. Mary's. Ingram finished with a career high 13 made free throws while shooting 100% for the sixth time this season.
TWU (13-3, 7-1) recorded its fourth road win of the 2023-24 season against StMU (2-11, 2-5) and first since defeating Cameron on Dec. 2.
The Pioneers dominated inside with 38 paint points and shot an efficient 50% from the field. The game marked the sixth time TWU has shot 50% or more this season.
TWU won the turnover battle by forcing 20 Rattler turnovers and turning them into 17 points on the other end. The Pioneers have forced 20 or more turnovers in three straight games.
The team closed out StMU in the second half at the free throw line after finishing 73% on 26 attempts.
Three Pioneers completed the game in double figures in scoring as Ingram led the way with 21 points. Ingram finished 4-8 from the field, 13-13 at the charity stripe, while grabbing eight boards and dishing out five assists. Leila Patel added 18 points and three rebounds as Averee Kleinhans contributed 12 points, four assists and three steals. Jada Celsur and Scout Huffman ended with eight points apiece, respectively.
St. Mary's started with a quick pace on the offensive end and was able to take an early 4-0 lead. TWU settled in and tied the game at 10-10 after two straight jumpers from Ariyanna Hines and Kleinhans.
The entire first quarter was a back-and-forth, seesaw battle between the two teams as they both got a feel for the game. A pair of free throws by Ingram and a basket by Celsur, gave the Pioneers the slight 14-13 edge heading into the second quarter.
Initially, the second quarter started similar to the first after the two teams had multiple lead changes and ties. After the game became tied 20-20, the momentum turned in favor of TWU.
The pace of the game began to pick up along with the TWU defensive pressure. Great ball movement and execution by the Pioneers sparked a second-quarter domination led by Patel and Kleinhans. The offensive surge by these two sparked a 17-3 TWU run to extend the lead to 37-23 with two minutes remaining in the half.
Patel and Kleinhans finished the quarter with 12 and seven points as TWU went into the half with a 39-29 lead.
The Pioneers picked up where they left off out of the half and continued to convert on offensive possessions. A few baskets from Huffman and Celsur, along with getting to the free throw line, extended the TWU lead to as much as 16 points in the third quarter, 51-35.
StMU showed some toughness and cut the deficit to 11 points just before the quarter ended after a three-point play to make the score 56-45, heading into the fourth.
More of the same efficiency from the Pioneers continued in the fourth quarter, as scoring came in bunches and all sorts of ways. TWU bumped its lead up to as much as 18 points, 71-53, before closing out the Rattlers on the road 76-63, for its third straight win.
TWU improves to 7-1 in conference play and 13-3 overall.
The Pioneers now have an all-time, 13-12 record versus St. Mary's and have won the last five match-ups against StMU.
"A great team win," said TWU Head Coach Beth Jillson. "We did a good job of sharing the basketball, getting paint touches, and working for high-percentage shots."
TWU continues its road trip into Austin, Texas when they take on St. Edward's on Saturday, Jan. 13 at 1 p.m.
-PIONEERS-
