SAN MARCOS, Tex (11/29/02) - The Lady Eagles basketball team overpowered Alcorn State in the opening game of the SW Texas Century Tel Classic 82-54 at Strahan Coliseum to open the season at 2-0. North Texas started the game with an 11-0 run and never looked back.  

“I thought we had a great effort defensively tonight,” said North Texas head coach Tina Slinker. “Because they are so athletic we knew that one of the key’s tonight was to stop their penetration and we were able to do that tonight”.

Alcorn State was held scoreless for the first 7:19 of the game as the Lady Eagles dominated defensively in building 19-3 lead midway through the first half. An unstoppable inside game led by senior post Vilma Grismanauskaite, who finished the night with 10 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks, gave the Lady Eagles a 39-16 lead at the half.  Alcorn State was held to just five field goals in the first half and 19 percent shooting. 

North Texas added to their lead in the second half as freshman guard Erika Bobo sparked a 10-1 run three-minutes into the second half to extend the Lady Eagles lead to 54-26. Bobo dished out a team-high 10 assists on the night, which are the most since Rosalyn Reades freshman year. Bobo ended evening with four points, four rebounds, and three steals to go along with her 10 assists.

“Erika had a tremendous night. Anytime that she came into the game when there was a lag, she came up with a spark for us tonight” said Slinker.  

North Texas iced the game for good with a 9-2 run over 2:32 to give the Lady Eagles their largest lead of the game at 73-37 with 4:12 left. Freshman Mian Williams came off the bench to score eight points for North Texas and junior forward Emily Britt recorded a career-high nine points.  Kim Blanton lead the Lady Eagles with 12 points as 12 different players scored on the night for North Texas.

The Lady Eagles will go after their seventh straight win in the SW Texas Century Tel Classic tomorrow as they battle the UMKC Kangaroos at 4 p.m.