SAN ANTONIO – The University of the Incarnate Word women's basketball program defeated the Lady Demons of Northwestern State University (NSU) 67-60 in overtime on Thursday evening at the McDermott Center.
 
"Just another tremendous come-from-behind overtime win on a Thursday night," head coach Jeff Dow said. "There were multiple occasions where we could of let go of the rope, so to speak, but we showed a lot of resiliency both in the fourth quarter and in the overtime.  After missing Saturday's game at New Orleans, just a really gutty performance by Jaaucklyn Moore.  Obviously that was a clutch shot to tie it up in regulation, and then a huge three to give us the lead in the final minute of overtime.  Myra Bell had another great game in coming away with her first double-double of her career, plus she added four steals, two assists, and had zero turnovers in 40 minutes of playing time.  Destiny Terrell had another terrific game on the boards with eleven, with six of those being offensive boards. And not to be forgotten was the huge defensive play Jamie Means made at the end of regulation, coming up with a blocked shot."
 
The Cardinals battled in a close matchup against the Lady Demons that consisted of 10 lead changes and seven tied scores. Jaaucklyn Moore tied the game (53-53) with a jumper from the top of the key with five seconds left in regulation.
 
In the first half, Destiny Terrell pushed the Cardinals ahead 10-8, knocking down both free throws. Moore sparked the Cardinal offense with a corner three to give UIW the 17-16 lead heading into the second quarter. Breanna Perez came out strong for the second 10 minutes of the game, pushing through the tough NSU defense for a layup. The Lady Demons went on a quick scoring run that pushed them ahead by eight, but Myra Bell answered with a 3-pointer to cut the advantage to five (30-25). Moore drained another trey as time expired in the first half to cut the lead to three (38-35).
 
"We place a lot of emphasis on defense obviously so it was great to see us hold them to 15 points in the second half, and 24 percent from the field in the second half and overtime period combined," Dow said. "Another key was having the discipline to limit them to eight free throws for the game, and only five in regulation."
 
The Cardinals and Lady Demons both came out of the halftime break struggling to knock down a basket. The third quarter ended with a 46-41 NSU lead. Moore provided energy for UIW with a steal before Kamryn Gibson scored a layup in transition to help the Cardinals chip away at the advantage. Breanna Perez hit a pull-up jumper that brought UIW within one point and Moore added a jumper that tied the game with five seconds left in regulation. The Lady Demons could not answer on the offensive end, which led to an overtime period.
 
NSU struck first in overtime, pushing ahead 57-53. Bell knocked down a trey to bring the Cardinals within one and swing the momentum towards UIW. Moore hit back-to-back threes to put the Cardinals ahead, 63-60. She then forced a NSU turnover leading to a transition layup from Terrell that put UIW up 65-60. The Cardinals put pressure on the Lady Demons and secured the overtime victory, 67-60.
 
"We were pretty successful on the boards a few weeks ago in our win at their place, and we felt that was something we were going to need to do again tonight," Dow said. "It was really encouraging to see us end up plus 17 in rebounding margin, and come away with 26 offensive rebounds to win the 'second chance points' category, 14-4.  We are continually stressing that you can overtime a poor shooting night if you pound the offensive boards and limit your turnovers, and that's exactly what we did.  We ended up with 19 more possessions, and had 19 more shots as a result of our effort on the boards on both ends."
 
UP NEXT
UIW hosts Southeastern Louisiana University on Saturday, Feb 19. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT. Fans can purchase tickets on the UIW Ticket Website or by calling the ticket office at (210)805-3000.
 
FOLLOW ALONG 
For the most up-to-date information on UIW Athletics, visit uiwcardinals.com, follow the Cardinals on Twitter @UIWAthletics and like UIW Athletics on Facebook.  
  
Follow the team on Twitter @UIWWBB and on Instagram @uiw_womenshoops.