The University of the Incarnate Word women's basketball team started the Lone Star Conference divisional gauntlet on Wednesday night, taking on perennial powerhouse West Texas A&M at the McDermott Center.
The Cardinals played hard and kept things close throughout the contest, but ultimately fell to WTAMU, 74-67.
“It was good to see our players give a full effort the whole game,” head coach Angela Lawson said after the game. “It was also a good sign to see that they girls were hurting after having played so hard and coming up short. Not physically, but emotionally. It shows that they've started taking this to heart.”
Rose Whitehead and Chloe Wallace led UIW (4-9 overall, 1-0 in the Lone Star) with 12 points each, with Wallace grabbing six rebounds and Whitehead adding three. Just behind were Katy Cooke with 11 points and Ifunanya Mora with 10 points.
Freshman guard Kaylin Dugie scored nine points and had seven assists.
West Texas (8-6, 1-0) was led by LSC top-five scorer Jamie Simmons with 23 points. Aly Sherman (15 points) and Ariel Robertson (13 points) were the only other Lady Buffs with double-digit scores.
West Texas led UIW, 39-34, at halftime and the Cardinals were able to only close within three points of the visitors early in the second half, helped by a 21-of-23 performance on the free throw line by Incarnate Word on the night.
The Cardinals will be in Kingsville, taking on Texas A&M-Kingsville, at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Then, UIW will be on the road for a showdown against Tarleton State next Wednesday before returning home on Saturday, January 22nd, for a 2 p.m. matchup against Midwestern State.
