SAN ANTONIO -- The University of the Incarnate Word women's basketball team secured its second victory of conference play by a final score of 81-69 Saturday afternoon at the McDermott Center.
 
Junior guard Imani Robinson hit a career-high 26 points while freshman guard Macy Ray delivered a season best 21 points in the victory. It was the first time UIW has had multiple players record 20+ points since February 22, 2017 against Nicholls (Robinson 23 pts and Garcia Paunero 20 pts).
 
Ray did her damage in the first half, scoring 19, only to hand the reins over the Robinson in the second, when she poured in 21 to secure the victory.
 
NOTABLES

• Robinson's 26 points were the most scored by Cardinal in a single game since December 20, 2016 when Haley Frias delivered 42 points against LSU-Alexandria.
• She did so by shooting 7-9 from the field (77.7 percent) a new career high when attempting more than three shots in a game.
• She hit a career-best 10 free throws as well, finishing 10-14 from the line.
• It wasn't just offense for. Robinson either as UIW received six steals from the junior, her new career high.
• Ray's 21 points was the first time a freshman Cardinal had recorded 20+ points since Robinson hit for 23 against Nicholls on Feb 22, 2017.
• The majority of Ray's offensive output came from three. She hit a season best four triples in the victory (4-7).
• As a team, UIW scored 81 points, the most the Cardinals have scored in a conference game since Feb. 18, 2017 against Sam Houston State (82).
• This was the fourth highest offensive output in a conference game during the Christy Smith era at UIW.
• UIW shot 44.7 percent from the field today as a team, its highest team percentage of the season and highest since shooting 45.5 percent against South Dakota last season (Dec. 4, 2017).
• Redshirt senior guard Gabbi Bowie recorded a season-high 10 points on a career-high 10 made free throws. She finished the night 10-13 from the charity stripe.
• Bowie also led the team with seven assists a new career-high.
• The San Antonio native also recorded a season-best three steals in the win.
• She was a workhorse all afternoon for the Cardinals, playing a career-high 39 minutes.
• Freshman forward Starr Omozee recorded 10 points as well, her seventh 10+ point performance of the year and fourth such performance in her last five games.
• This was the second time this season four Cardinals recorded 10+ points in the same game (also vs Weber State Nov. 21, 2018).
• Omozee and junior forward Alexis Henry led the way on the glass, each collecting six rebounds.
• As a team, UIW went 31-41 from the line, the most made free throws in a single game since Nov. 20, 2013 against Our Lady of the Lake (34-44).

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
QTR 1 (15-18): The Cardinals established early control of the game after Ray came out of the gates on fire to score eight points in the first 5:07, giving UIW an early 12-7 lead. The Privateers bounced back, closing out the quarter on an 11-3 run and finished the quarter with a three point lead. Ray led all scorers with nine points on 3-3 shooting (2-2 from three). Bowie delivered a fantastic quarter as the primary facilitator, finishing with four assists.

QTR 2 (34-39): Ray could not be stopped in the second quarter. The freshman hit shot after shot for the Cardinals, even giving her team a lead on her fourth three ball of the game with 1:46 left (32-31). The Privateers closed the half with another run to re-establish the lead and take a five point advantage into the break. Ray finished the quarter with 10 points on 2-3 shooting while hitting all four of her attempts at the line. For the half, Ray had put up 19 points, the most points a UIW player had scored in a single half all season. She finished the half shooting 5-6 from the field (4-5 from three) and 5-6 from the free throw line in 17:44 of work.

QTR 3 (55-51): UNO had had enough of Ray after the first half and decided to deny the UIW freshman any opportunities moving forward. With Ray constantly covered by at least one defender on the perimeter, the lane opened up for Robinson to show why she was selected as a pre-season first team all-conference guard. The junior slashed through the UNO defenses for a grand total of 10 points in the quarter (4-5 from the field, 1-1 from three). The Cardinals closed the half on a 10-1 run, punctuated by a beautiful play down low from Bowie who found Robinson for an open layup. By quarter's end, UIW had seized momentum in the game and led by four points.

QTR 4 (81-69): New Orleans wouldn't go quietly in the fourth. The Privateers jumped out to a 61-58 lead, forcing a timeout from Christy Smith at the 8:49 mark. From that point, UIW went on a 15-0 run led by outstanding play from Robinson and Bowie and a pair of clutch threes from sophomore guard Kara Speer. Robinson got the ball rolling with another strong move to the basket for two points, then Bowie took over, sinking a pair of free throws to give UIW the lead, 63-61. Then, with the attention of the defense still on the perimeter shooting of Ray, the freshman took what the defense was giving her and distributed the ball to Robinson for a layup and then again to Speer for her first three of the game. With momentum on their side, Robinson made a heady play on defense to claim her sixth steal of the night and threw the ball up to Bowie who again, found Speer in the corner for a dagger three, putting UIW up, 71-61 with 4:39 remaining. From there, the Cardinals played sound defense and the veteran leaders stepped up by knocking down free throws as UIW earned its first home victory of conference play, growing its SLC record to 2-5. Robinson led all scorers with 11 points in the fourth, Bowie added seven of her own. The 21 points from Robinson in the second half broke the UIW record Ray had set in the first half for the most points scored in a single half by one player this season.

HEAR FROM COACH SMITH
"Really proud of the team for fighting through adversity and gutting out a win. Imani and Macy traded halves of outstanding scoring to carry us through. Kara hit a couple huge threes and Gabbi was there the whole time to hold us together. Everyone contributed, which is what we need. We're really proud of our compete level the last three games, I'm happy that all that work resulted in a win today for our women. There's still plenty of work to be done, now's the time to get out on the road and show what we're made of."

UP NEXT
The Cardinals hit the road next week for three straight road contests in the Southland Conference. The trip begins at Houston Baptist next Wednesday for a 7:00 p.m. tip. From there, UIW takes its final trip into Louisiana for rematch against New Orleans next Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The trip concludes the following Saturday, Feb. 9, when the Cardinals travel to Corpus Christi for a clash with the Islanders of Texas A&M-CC.

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