TexAnns turn back Zias

Staff report

STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Senior guard Kathy Thomas scored 17 points, leading three Tarleton State players in double figures on Saturday in the TexAnns’ 77-68 Lone Star Conference women’s victory over Eastern New Mexico University.

Junior center Breanna Fuller scored 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting and added nine rebounds off the bench for the TexAnns (15-9, 8-7 LSC), while sophomore forward Ikpeaku Iwobi added 11 points and 11 rebounds. TSU opened the game up a bit late in the half and eventually built an 18-point lead, but struggled to put the Zias (9-16, 5-10) away.

Junior guard Sarah Stinnett scored 16 of her game-high 23 points in the first half for ENMU, while senior forward Tori Tucker had 19 points and nine rebounds. Senior forward Jasmine Johnson added 10 points and 10 rebounds and junior guard Jordyn Cooper also collected 10 points off the Zias’ bench, while junior guard Cassidy Doherty posted nine assists without a turnover.

The teams exchanged the lead several times in the early going, but the TexAnns went in front for good 19-18 on a basket by guard Raven McGrath about seven minutes into the half.

Stinnett buried a 3-pointer with 5:42 to go until halftime to pull the Zias to 34-33, but TSU finished the half on an 11-2 run to open a 10-point cushion.

The margin stayed between 10 and 15 points when play resumed before the TexAnns took their largest lead (67-49) on a basket by Karli Moore with 6:09 to go. The Zias clawed back, getting within seven points in the final minutes before running out of time.

Tarleton shot 48 percent for the game to 35 percent for the Zias and dominated the boards 48-31, helping the TexAnns overcome a 17-9 disadvantage in turnovers. ENMU posted a 15-7 scoring edge over TSU off floor errors.

The Zias wrap up their season next Saturday with a 1 p.m. (MST) conference game at rival West Texas A&M.