Abram Choate, SID
ALPINE, Texas - Practically duplicating their last meeting, the Howard Payne Lady Jackets once again handed a loss to the Lady Lobos of Sul Ross State University in Alpine this afternoon, 75-53.
With a close first half, the Lady Jackets ended the half with only a six point lead, a mirror image of their game against Sul Ross earlier in the season. Although Daphnie Pippins scored in the last ten seconds off of a drive and kick-out from Meia Daniels, the Lady Lobos' Janice Mitchell chunked a half-court shot up at the buzzer that shortened Howard Payne's lead to 6 points.
Howard Payne got into foul trouble early with Stacey Blalock and Sarah Jockers both entering the locker room at the half with three fouls each, as opposed to the four team fouls of Sul Ross. Also a factor to the pace of the game was the turnover ratio, with the Lady Jackets having 9, and Sul Ross only 5.
However, also similar to their previous meeting, the Lady Jackets came out strong in the second half with several baskets by Meia Daniels which contributed to the lead which Howard Payne continued to build throughout the remainder of the game.
Although the Lady Lobos still attempted to compete with the Lady Jackets, a strong performance by HPU freshman Katy Sarem around the 7 minute mark sparked the team into their largest lead of the game. The Lady Jackets went on to finish their second meeting with their opponent by reaching and maintaining a 20 point lead.
Another outstanding performance by Meia Daniels for the Lady Jackets included 23 points, 6 steals and 7 rebounds. Closely following her were Kim Hoffman with 14 points and 5 rebounds, and Katy Sarem with 9 points and 3 steals, respectively.
Leading the Lady Lobos were Nitra Woods with 16 points and 9 rebounds, and Janice Mitchell with 14 points. Sul Ross State University falls to 2-4 on the season with today's loss.
The Howard Payne Lady Jackets, who now improved to 6-0 on their season, will face their next opponent in Marshall next Saturday against East Texas Baptist University at 1:00.
