Joel "Jewlz" Morris
Sports Editor
Scrappy Jaguars defense locks up second conference win
The Texas A&M University- San Antonio women’s basketball team are off to a strong start in Red River Athletic Conference play, recording a victory against University of North Texas-Dallas Trailblazers, 71-59.
With a team total of 24 steals, the Jaguars defensive efforts translated easily into scoring opportunities in transition, capitalizing on 33 points-off-turnovers.
“I think our defensive pressure was pretty consistent all game,” A&M-San Antonio head coach Chris Minner said.
Three players had four steals or more to lead the defensive charge: senior guard Evelyn Lorenzo with five steals, graduate guard Hailee Brandon with four steals, and sophomore forward Talaiyah Andrews with four steals.
“I play aggressive and I feel like I leave everything on the court at all times,” Brandon said. “I play as hard as I possibly can. I just got to make the most of the time I have left.”
Lorenzo complemented her defensive performance with a solid offensive outing scoring 17 points.
Ten of Lorenzo’s points came from the free-throw line in the second half as she was attacking inside the paint, willing her team to victory.
The low post presence of junior forward Aniyah Lewis was a factor in this contest against UNT-Dallas. Lewis stuffed the stat sheet with a double-double, finishing with 18 points and 13 rebounds against the length and size advantage the Trailblazers presented.
“We all had to come out and hustle and grab rebounds,” Lewis said.
A&M-San Antonio understands consistency will be the key for them to be strong throughout the season.
We got to be consistent on defense and offense,” Minner said. “You can’t dip in your effort or your mental focus.”
The Jaguars have a quick turnaround with another conference opponent in the University of The Southwest Mustangs at 1 p.m. on Dec. 6 coming to the Jaguar Den.
Men’s basketball capture first RRAC win with second half surge
The 56-42 lopsided second half pushed the Jaguars to victory over UNT-Dallas, marking their first conference win 82-75.
Guard play by both junior guards, Dezmon Dudley and Carson Brown lifted the Jags offense, scoring 42 points combined.
Dudley finished with 20 points, playing 36 minutes being a consistent threat in the paint and knocking down free throws.
“Once I got to the paint, I was just taking my time, playing off two and just seeing whether I go up or hit on my teammates,” Dudley said.
Brown came off the bench provided an efficient 22 points off 20 minutes. The bench scoring from Brown led to the Jags’ first double-figure lead of the game as he drew contact and finished the and-one, increasing the lead 63-53 with 5:35 to go in the second half.
Attributing his success to ball movement and teamwork, Brown says it was a collective effort to pull off this win.
“Pass the ball and make them work on defense, and we got open layups,” Brown said. “Just playing as a team and playing together was all it took.”
The other side of the Jags’ success to outscore the Trailblazers was their defense. Holding the ‘Blazers to only shooting 37.5% from the field in the second half was key for the Jags to gain momentum.
“Sitting down on defense, talking a little more on defense, hands were a little more active,” Jaguar head coach Chris Dial said.
With both sides of the ball showing up, the Jags did not just get their first conference win but they captured their first home win and snapped a three-game losing streak.
Dial is impressed with the team but wants more from them as they have a quick turnaround against another conference foe.
“This can be enjoyable this evening but tomorrow it’s all about Saturday and Southwest,” Dial said. “We got to put a good practice on this game tomorrow.”
“More perimeter oriented basketball, they shoot it really well, they like to run too,” Dial said.
USW will visit A&M-San Antonio at 3 p.m on Dec. 6 in the Jaguar Den.
