SAN ANTONIO -- The University of the Incarnate Word women's basketball team delivered a consistent, well-balanced effort for 40 minutes on its way to a 76-69 home victory over Southeastern Louisiana Wednesday night at the McDermott Center.
 
Redshirt senior Gabbi Bowie led the team, finishing with a season-high 17 points, five assists, one rebound and one steal in a team high 24 minutes. She was deadly from deep, hitting a career-high three triples on five attempts.
 
Everyone was scoring tonight as the UIW bench delivered 47 points, the most in UIW DI history.
 
 
NOTABLES

• Bowie finished with a career-high 71.4 percent shooting night (5-7) including 3-5 from beyond the arc.
• It was her second double-digit scoring performance of the season (10 vs Lamar, 1/23) and second career game with 5 or more assists (7 vs Lamar, 1/23).
• She managed those five assists while committing just one turnover, the best assist to turnover ratio of her career.
• Junior forward Lunden Henry was a menace in the paint all game, finishing with a career-high 15 points in just over 21 minutes. She also added three rebounds and an assist.
• Sophomore guard Liz Holter hit a career-best three triples as well tonight, giving her a season-high nine points off the bench.
• Junior guard Angelica Wiggins scored 12 points off the bench on 5-9 shooting (55.6 percent). She was dangerous on the drive, hitting four of her five buckets in the paint.
• The Cardinals were led on the glass by juniors Alexis Henry and Imani Robinson. Both finished with eight, tying each of their season highs.
• Robinson also dealt out four assists, giving her four games this season with at least four assists and five rebounds.
• Sophomore forward Olivia Noah terrorized the Lady Lions defensively, finishing with a career-high three blocks.
• As a team, UIW set season highs in field goals made (25), three-point percentage (45.5), assists (17) and blocks (6).
• All 11 Cardinals that saw the court recorded at least one rebound, 10 recorded at least one point and eight finished with at least one assist.
• UIW finished with 44 rebounds, the seventh 40+ rebound performance of the year.
• It was the third time this season the Cardinals have shot 40 percent or better as a team, they are 2-1 in such games.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
QTR 1 (21-14): The Cardinals came out firing from three. Robinson got things started by draining a three at the 7:59 mark, setting the stage for what would be the best three-point shooting game of the season for UIW. Freshman forward Starr Omozee followed suit, hitting a three of her own on the next trip down. The Lady Lions fought back, even taking a lead with just under four minutes left in the quarter, 12-10. But the Cardinals responded with a three-ball from Bowie to start an 11-2 UIW run that would last until the end of the quarter. Omozee, Bowie and L. Henry led the team with five points each. All five of L. Henry's points came during the run to end the quarter. The Cardinals finished the frame 4-6 (66.7 percent) from beyond the arc and a perfect 5-5 from the foul line.

QTR 2 (36-32): Sophomore guard Kara Speer took over for a stretch in the second quarter, scoring five points in a 6-0 UIW run to extend the Cardinals lead from one (23-22) to seven (29-22) midway through the quarter. UIW led by as many as ten points after Holter drilled her second three of the night. The Lady Lions stayed competitive, going on a 5-0 run to end the quarter and head into the halftime break only down four. Speer's five points led the team in the quarter. At the halftime whistle, UIW was shooting 6-10 (60 percent) from deep, getting assists on nine of 11 made shots.

QTR 3 (57-47): SLU made it close again to start the second half, but it was the deep ball that bailed the Cardinals out once again, getting triples from Wiggins and Holter to grow a one-point lead to seven (42-35). UIW played tough defense throughout the quarter, holding SLU to just 27.3 percent shooting (3-11). That defense worked against them though, as the Lady Lions cashed in on nine free throws to keep the game close. But anytime it looked in doubt, the Cardinals managed to get a key bucket, and, in this quarter, those buckets came from Wiggins. The junior scored seven straight UIW points off skillful drives and powerful finishes down low, giving the Cardinals a 10-point advantage heading into the final quarter. She led the team with 10 points in the frame.

QTR 4 (76-69): UIW extended its lead to 15 points thanks to a quick, 6-0 scoring run from Bowie. SLU managed the cut the lead to as little as six with 25 seconds left, but the end result seemed secure on the Cardinals bench and UIW walked away with its second straight home victory. Bowie slammed the door with 10 fourth quarter points off two made-threes and a perfect 4-4 performance at the charity stripe. UIW out-rebounded the Lady Lions, 14-7, to finish the game, leaving little hope for the visitors down the stretch.

UP NEXT
The Cardinals look to make it three in a row at the McDermott Center when they host Abilene Christian Saturday afternoon, tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m. (CT).

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