NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The University of the Incarnate Word women's basketball team fell to Southland Conference foe Stephen F. Austin, 67-60, on Saturday afternoon.
Dorian Norris had a big game for UIW, finishing with a double-double on 13 points, going a perfect 4-for-4 from the 3-point line. Both Norris (11) and
Raimi McCrary (8) combined for 19 rebounds on the day, while McCrary added 13 points of her own. Norris also added four steals and two blocks during her 35 minutes of play.
McCrary scored in the opening possession and then SFA came out in a zone against the Cardinals which allowed UIW to crash the offensive boards hard. However, the Cardinals had trouble connecting, tallying as many as four opportunities in one possession early on as they looked to extend the 2-0 start. The Ladyjacks and Cardinals fought for the lead as Norris knocked down an open three after
Madison Cockrell cut through the double team to find her on the wing for the 8-7 lead. In the final minutes of the quarter, SFA started to pull away and ended the first with an 18-13 lead.
The Ladyjacks began to pull away once again in the second quarter by as much as 10 points (30-20). UIW continued to fight and find gaps both in the paint and in the corner against the SFA zone to stay on the heels of the Ladyjacks to end the first half trailing, 35-28.
Midway through the third quarter, the Cardinals found themselves within six before
Brynn Lusby fought for an offensive putback that cut the SFA lead to four (43-39). The Cardinals and Lumberjacks ended the third with a seven-point game to head into the final 10 minutes at 48-41.
UIW cut the deficit back down to five on a made free throw from Norris (56-51) with four minutes to go and then once more on a 3-pointer from
Myra Bell with two minutes left in the game for a score of 59-54. Another drained corner 3-pointer from Norris put UIW within four points of SFA, but a pair of free throws from the Ladyjacks extended the scored back to 62-57 with 40 seconds remaining. SFA used the clock to its advantage to take the 67-60 conference victory.
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 teams on Twitter @UIWMBB / @UIWWBB and on Instagram @UIWMensBasketball / @uiw_womenshoops
-- UIW CARDINALS –