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LeTourneau Women’s Basketball Battles #15 ETBU In 75-44 Road Loss
MARSHALL, Texas – Playing their last American Southwest Conference game of the 2018 portion of the 2018-19 schedule, the LeTourneau University women’s basketball team could not overcome a 34-14 halftime deficit in a 75-44 loss to number 15 nationally-ranked East Texas Baptist University at Ornelas Arena on Thursday, December 13.
With the loss, LETU falls to 2-8 overall and 0-5 in the American Southwest Conference while the Tigers picked up their 10th victory of the year to improve to 10-1 overall and 4-1 in the ASC.
How It Happened:
Right out of the gates, ETBU would look to make three-point shooting and transition point an emphasis of the night as LETU would allow the first seven points of the evening before getting an Alexandria Thorne layup to get on the board and break the run.
Trailing 9-2 with 5:19 left in the first quarter, the YellowJackets would score five of the next seven points with Jaila Leaven hitting a triple to cut the deficit to 10-7 heading into the final three minutes of the first stanza.
Following an East Texas Baptist layup and triples by both teams, ETBU would add one last basket with 1:34 left in the quarter to grab an 18-10 lead after 10 minutes of action.
Shooting woes found LeTourneau in the opening minutes of the second quarter as East Texas Baptist would claim the first nine points of the second period to extend their lead to 27-10 before Keauna Whitfield would break a 4:49 scoring drought for LETU with a jump shot to make the score 27-12.
Three-point shooting would then find its way to ETBU down the stretch of the first half as the Tiger lead would grow to 34-12 and eventually settle at 34-14 at intermission thanks in part to a 9-0 advantage in second-chance points and a 15-4 advantage in points off turnovers.
Seven straight points to open the third quarter by East Texas Baptist threatened to break the game open early in the second half, but it would be LETU who would fight back with a 12-2 run to cut the ETBU lead to 43-26 with 4:35 left in the quarter.
Leaven would manage to connect on another triple just minutes later which would bring LeTourneau within 15 at 44-29 but could not cut into the deficit any further in the quarter as the Tigers would hold a 48-33 lead heading to the fourth.
10 of the first 14 points of the fourth quarter would be scored by ETBU which allowed East Texas Baptist to grow the lead to 58-37 as the depth of the Tigers would begin to take over.
Having made a push in the third, LeTourneau would be unable to match their offensive output in the fourth as ETBU would outscore LETU 27-11 and claim the victory in the first of two matchups between the two teams this season.
Key Stats:
East Texas Baptist held a 46-27 advantage in rebounds which included a 16-6 advantage on the offensive glass which led to a 13-6 advantage in second-chance points.
Points in the paint would also be a problem for the YellowJackets as ETBU outscored LETU 36-12 in the paint.
Leading LeTourneau offensively was Leaven who finished with 14 points which included four triples while Thorne added 11 points and two steals. ETBU would be driven by a game-high 17 points from Kendrick Clark.
What’s Next?
Another quick turnaround finds the YellowJackets hitting the road once more before Christmas to take on Centenary College on Saturday, December 15 at 1:30 p.m. The game will be the first of four games at the Gold Dome as part of the Shreveport Classic as LETU will take on a Centenary squad that is 1-6 overall after winning their last game out against Southeastern Baptist 78-45.
LeTourneau Women’s Basketball Claims 72-52 Win Over Dallas Christian
DALLAS, Texas – Outscoring their opponents 24-12 in the fourth quarter, the LeTourneau University women’s basketball team picked up a 72-52 road victory over Dallas Christian College in Dallas, Texas on Tuesday, December 11.
LETU improves to 2-7 overall while the Lady Crusaders dropped to 3-5 with the defeat.
How It Happened:
Avoiding a slow start that has been problematic throughout the season, the YellowJackets would score six of the first eight points of the game to get off to a 6-2 lead in the opening minutes.
LeTourneau would continue to keep their defensive intensity up through the rest of the opening period, using a 10-0 run to end the quarter and grab a 16-4 lead heading into the second quarter.
After getting a bucket from Jaila Leaven to open the second quarter, LETU would see DCC connect on back-to-back threes to cut the YellowJacket lead down to eight at 18-10 with 8:03 remaining in the first half.
Cortney Arnold would put LeTourneau back up double-digits at 21-10 following a triple of her own before giving LETU their largest lead of the first half at 26-12 just a few minutes later.
A quick 5-0 run by Dallas Christian would appear to give the Lady Crusaders momentum to cut into the YellowJacket lead right before halftime, but it would be LETU who would score five of the final seven points of the first half to take a 31-19 lead at the break.
Out of intermission, DCC would manage to connect on their first two shots and use a 4-0 spurt to cut the LeTourneau lead down to eight before seeing the YellowJackets respond with an 8-3 run to go back up 39-26 with 5:02 remaining in the quarter.
LeTourneau would threaten to break the game open by using a 7-2 run capped off by a Claudia Moonsammy triple to go up 48-33 with 2:18 left in the third, but it would be DCC who would use a 7-0 run to end the quarter and cut the LETU down to eight at 48-40 heading to the fourth.
The Dallas Christian run would continue into the fourth as the Lady Crusaders scored the first three points of the final stanza to trail 48-43 just 26 seconds into the quarter, but a triple and layup by Leaven put LETU back up double-digits at 53-43.
The defense would then clamp down once again for LeTourneau as the YellowJacket lead would not drop any lower than 11 as LETU would run away with things down the stretch 11-2 to claim the 20-point victory.
Key Stats:
Shooting a season-best 45.5 percent (30-of-66) from the field, LETU feasted on scoring 40 of their 72 points in the paint while scoring another 16 second-chance points.
Notching her second double-double of the season, Keauna Whitfield finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds while Leaven scored a game-high 17 points.
Olivia Eweni would also manage to wind up in double-figures on the evening, scoring 12 points on six-of-eight shooting.
What’s Next?
LeTourneau will take on East Texas Baptist University in the first of two contests between the two squads in the annual Highway 80 Rivalry beginning Thursday, December 13 in Marshall at 5:30 p.m. ETBU is coming off an 81-49 victory over Howard Payne Monday evening.
Matt Kinney
Sports Information Director
Office: 903-233-3735
Cell: 903-736-7669
MattKinney@letu.edu
www.letuathletics.com