January 31st, 2009
(Photo of Tamisha Timpson by Drew Engelke)
Box Score
SEGUIN, Texas – Defending national champion Howard Payne erased a 12-point halftime deficit and edged Texas Lutheran 62-58 Saturday in TLU’s Memorial Gymnasium.
Howard Payne (14-5, 10-5 ASC West) trailed for the majority of the game and did not take its first lead of the second half until 5:17 remained in the game.
TLU and HPU traded the lead over the next four minutes. The Bulldogs took a one-point lead with 1:23 to play on two Courtney Haskell (San Antonio/Southwest) free throws.
On the next HPU possession, Brittany Zamora misfired on a long three-pointer, but Katy Sarem grabbed the offensive rebound to give Zamora another opportunity. Zamora nailed the second chance and put the Yellow Jackets up by two, 58-56, with 53 seconds on the clock.
TLU missed a jumper and turned the ball over on its next two possessions before resorting to fouling. HPU’s Hope Hohertz connected on two free throws to put the Jackets’ lead back to four.
The Bulldogs’ Tamisha Timpson (San Antonio/Roosevelt) answered with a lay-up with five seconds to play to cut the margin back down to two. But Hohertz iced the game with final two free throws with just less than five seconds remaining.
TLU dropped to 6-13 overall and to 4-11 in the American Southwest Conference.
Hohertz, a key member of the 2008 NCAA DIII national championship squad, scored 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. She was 7-for-13 from the floor and 10-for-14 from the free throw line. Six of her rebounds came on the offensive glass.
Sarem and Kelsey Miller each added 11 points. Miller and Elaine Hobbs each collected seven rebounds.
As a team, the Yellow Jackets out-rebounded TLU 46-31.
The Bulldogs received 12 points from freshmen Timpson and Pearl Kafoa (Keller/Keller Central). Kafoa hit four three-pointers in the first half as the Bulldogs’ led by as many as 14 in the opening 20 minutes.
TLU led 31-19 at the break after a last second three-pointer by freshman Kimberly Hagan (Houston/Cypress Creek).
TLU first-year post Rebecca Valdez (McAllen/McAllen) added 10 points, five rebounds and three blocks. Courtney Haskell (San Antonio/Southwest) recorded eight points, five rebounds and two blocks.
Saturday’s game was a far departure from the last year’s meeting in Seguin between HPU and TLU. HPU defeated TLU by 54 en route to conference and national titles. TLU was winless, at 0-25, in 2007-08.
The Bulldogs, under first-year head coach Roxanne Long, have won six times this season, equaling the number of wins by the program in the previous three seasons combined.
TLU was searching for its third win of the week (and third in a row) in Saturday’s contest. The Bulldogs posted wins earlier in the week over Schreiner and Sul Ross State.
The Bulldogs hit the road for Thursday’s 5:30 p.m. contest against Sul Ross State in Alpine, Texas. TLU will have the live webcast of that game from www.tlu.edu/athletics.