- Box Score
STEPHENVILLE – The Tarleton women's basketball team throttled the Rambelles of Angelo State 65-47 Saturday Night at Wisdom Gym, pushing their Lone Star Conference South Division record to 2-0.
Despite playing in front of a boisterous home crowd, the TexAnns relinquished an early lead to Angelo State, trailing 11-5 by the 15:48 mark. After the first media time out however, Tarleton responded taking back the lead for the majority of the first half.
The Rambelles did their best to hang with the TexAnns, but with around 7:23 left in the first half, Tarleton started to pull away with a 12-0 run.
The TexAnns ended the first half with a 10-point lead, taking a 30-20 advantage into the break.
Tarleton shot 37.5 percent from the field, while forcing ASU to shoot 27.3 percent and commit 14 turnovers defensively. Adamson led the TexAnns with eight points, but it was Kiara Wright's six points and seven rebounds that paced Tarleton's comeback. Another positive for Tarleton head coach Ronnie Hearne and his staff was the fact that nine different TexAnns scored at least two points over the first 20 minutes.
One noticeable difference statistically in the first half was that Tarleton outscored ASU 20-8 in the paint, as the Rambelles' struggled to stop the TexAnn guards from driving to the basket.
With a 10-point lead in hand entering the second half, Tarleton was able to slow the game down and run its offense, which controlled the tempo for the rest of the contest. The TexAnns were able to build on their lead throughout the second half with little deterrence from the visiting Rambelles.
At the apex of Tarleton's lead, the host TexAnns held a 26-point lead at the 7:17 mark. ASU just could not find a way to gain any momentum in the contest, failing to get the deficit to back under nine at any point in the second half.
For the fourth straight game against Angelo State, Tarleton won by double-digits, taking a 65-47 victory over the Rambelles. The TexAnns improved to 12-2 overall and 2-0 in the conference, keeping themselves tied atop the Lone Star Conference South Division.
Tarleton was led in the game by their leading scorer for the season Shelby Adamson, who recorded 14 points, five assists and five steals in the contest, while Kiara Wright contributed eight points and eight boards.
Senior Sonya Sundberg made her 100th career start for the TexAnns, having started in every game since arriving at Tarleton in 2007. Sundberg finished the game with seven points, four assists, two steals and a block.
Also contributing for the TexAnns was Tara Towns, who scored nine points and collected three steals, and Kelsey Benford, who grabbed seven boards and three blocks in the game.
As a team, Tarleton shot 46.2 percent from the floor, 42.9 percent from behind the arc, and hit 14 free throws. Defensively, the TexAnns held ASU to a stingy 26.1 percent from the floor and 6-of-17 from deep.
The Rambelles were led by Camille Perkins, who scored 14 points and grabbed eight boards, but committed eight turnovers. Lindsey Mahone was the only other ASU player in double-figures with 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting.
The TexAnns controlled every aspect of the game offensively outscoring the Rambelles in the paint (40-12), off turnovers (27-17), on fast break (13-0) and from the bench (30-19).
After the game, Sonya Sundberg was asked about achieving her 100th career start.
“It felt good to get the win,” said Sundberg. “I can tell I've changed over the years. I am more mature and less timid than I was as a freshman. I've gotten the chance to play with a great group of teammates over the years and this team's no different.”
Also playing in front a supportive home crowd for a change made a difference in the game for the TexAnns.
“It was a great crowd tonight and we are glad that we were able to give them a win,” said Sundberg.
The homecoming continues as Tarleton hosts LSC newcomer Incarnate Word Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 6 p.m. in Wisdom Gym. The TexAnns will be followed by the Texans at 8 p.m. so come out and show your support for Tarleton athletics.
