Smith 17’s not enough as LSUA falls to Texas A&M-Texarkana

TAMUT finished the second quarter with a 20-7 run and the third quarter on a 22-7 run to help the Eagles pull away from the Generals.

“I give credit to the Eagles,” LSUA Women’s Basketball Coach Bob Austin said. “They hit us with two big runs that hurt us. We were able to weather the first storm at the end of the first half and come back in the third quarter. But once they hit us with the second big run at the end of the third quarter, it became too much to overcome.”

LSUA (5-6 overall, 3-3 RRAC), which held a lead after the first quarter, 19-17. saw its five-game winning streak come to an end. Smith and freshman Maddie Smith scored five points each in the first quarter to lead the Generals.

With the Generals in front 25-24, TAMUT went on a 10-2 run to open up the game, and an extended 20-7 run to finish the half. LSUA shot 5-of-15 in the quarter, as well as turned it over nine times, as the Eagles soared to a 44-32 lead at the break.

LSUA cut the deficit to five when it began the third on a 9-2 run, led by four points of her 10 from freshman Raegan Ojoro. The freshman also recorded nine rebounds for a near double-double. But once again, TAMUT had an answer, ending the quarter on a 22-7 run to break the game open. The Generals were never able to recover from the run.

Naomi Tekleab paced the Eagles with 16, leading five players in double figures. As a team, TAMUT shot 51.3 percent, but 38 points in the paint helped them shoot 63.2 percent from inside the arc.

“They shot the ball really well,” Austin said. “We gave them too many clean looks at the rim, but they still were able to convert on many of the looks they got from all over the court.”

Morgan Strawder had a near double-double with 14 points and nine assists, making seven of her 10 shot attempts.

Junior Kelsey Thaxton scored a game-high 20 points, as well as eight rebounds.