January 29th, 2009
Box Score
(Photo of Pearl Kafoa by Drew Engelke)
SEGUIN, Texas – The Texas Lutheran women’s basketball team overcame a sluggish start Thursday before handing Sul Ross State a 67-55 defeat in TLU’s Memorial Gymnasium.
TLU improved to 6-12 overall and to 4-10 in the American Southwest Conference with its second consecutive win.
TLU’s six wins in 2008-09 equals the six wins by the Bulldogs in the previous three seasons combined.
Sul Ross State fell to 0-17 overall and to 0-14 in the ASC.
Sul Ross State jumped ahead of TLU 17-6 after the first 10 minutes of play, but TLU finally settled down and road the hot hand of Pearl Kafoa (Keller/Keller Central) to take a 28-23 lead at the break.
Kafoa, a first-year forward, scored all 10 of her points in the final five minutes of the first half. Her three-pointer at the 1:41 mark gave TLU its first lead of the game, at 25-23.
After a made free throw by Courtney Goodman (Fort Worth/Keller Central) and a Sul Ross turnover, Kafoa nailed a seven-foot jumpshot with five seconds remaining in the half.
The Bulldogs started the second half with a 24-8 run. Point guard Amy Doyle (Houston/Jersey Village) had eight points in the Bulldogs’ spurt. Doyle finished with a team-high 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting. She made two three-pointers and recorded five steals and four assists.
Courtney Haskell (San Antonio/Southwest) and Kafoa each scored 10. Haskell, a sophomore post, also collected six rebounds, five blocks and three steals. Kafoa added five rebounds.
TLU point guard Jocelyn Langford (Omaha, Neb./San Antonio Clark) delivered eight assists, and senior post Madilyn Caran (Yorktown/Yorktown) grabbed six rebounds.
The Bulldogs hit 45.9 percent of their second-half shots and finished the game at 42.2 percent. Sul Ross State shot 33.3 percent from the field for the game and was just 5-for-19 from the three-point line.
TLU goes for its third consecutive win Saturday when it faces defending NCAA Division III national champion Howard Payne. Game time is set for 1 p.m. in TLU’s Memorial Gymnasium.