DENTON, TX - The North Texas women were without three of primary contributors against the 8-2 Cameron Aggies Saturday night. But rather than look to one starter to pickup the slack, North Texas coach Mike Petersen found a bench ready to step up.
Four North Texas players came off the bench to register season-highs in minutes, and three turned in their best scoring nights of the season to help the Mean Green close out the non-conference portion of their schedule with a dominant 69-41 victory at the Super Pit.
"We had some popel playing that haven't played some minutes," Petersen said. "One of the advantages of having depth is, when you have a situation like this, you still have people who can play, and I thought they did a very good job.
North Texas, already missing starter BreAnna Dawkins out for the season with a knee injury, was without with three key contributors - Acheil Tac, Alexis Hyder and Laura McCoy, who have combined for 23 starts and average 23 minutes per game - due to illness or injury. In their place, North Texas got extra minutes from Eboniey Jeter, Ash'Lynne Evans and Hannah Christian, and all three logged more minutes and scored above their season averages.
Evans led the way for North Texas with her second double-double of the season. The senior forward from Everman had game-highs in points (15) and rebounds (12).
"She had to play a lot of minutes, but they were really good minutes," Petersen said. "I thought she did a nice job."
North Texas also got 10 points from Janis Peterson, and Jeter had a season-high 10 points and matched her season-best with six rebounds.
The game started wildly, with the teams missing seven three-point attempts. But North Texas quickly found the range, and four-straight three-point field goals by Briesha Wynn, Janis Peterson, Hannah Christian, and Peterson again staked the Mean Green to a 24-11 lead.
The North Texas defense was suffocating most of the half, forcing 13 turnovers and holding the Aggies to 23 percent shooting on six-of-26 from the field. Cameron managed one brief offensive outburst to cut the gap to 10 at 27-17, but Eboniey Jeter scored the final five points of the half to send North Texas to intermission with a 34-17 lead.
Quick Hits
• North Texas was without three players who have started or played major minutes this year. Sophomore forward Acheil Tac was out with a knee injury, senior guard Laura McCoy was out with the flu, and Alexis Hyder was out with a concussion.
• The Mean Green had a trio of three-point plays in the first half, drawing fouls inside and converting all three free throws. Briesha Wynn had two and Eboniey Jeter had one.
• Cameron controlled the boards in the first half, out-rebounding the Mean Green 25-16.
• Taylor Hooker, a transfer from Tulsa, made her second appearance of the season and had two points, two boards, and an assist.
• Peterson had a career-high four shot blocks.
• Redshirt freshman Kiarra Davis made her season debut and drilled a pair of three-point shots.
Up Next
The Mean Green women open Conference USA play with a familiar foe, former Sun-Belt rival Middle Tennessee, in Murfreesboro on Thursday at 7 p.m.
