Celia Sumbane scored a game-high 21 points as the South Plains College women’s basketball team won their seventh straight game, besting Midland 57-41 last Saturday at the Texan Dome.
The Lady Texans improve to 13-7 on the season and 7-0 in the WJCAC and will be on the floor on Thursday when they host Howard College at 5:45 p.m. at the Texan Dome. Admission to the game is free and can be streamed live at spctexans.com.
“Midland is a quality opponent, and I’m glad we won this one at home, but everyone has to play better,” South Plains College head coach Ara Baten said. “I thought we did a decent job covering out on shooters and don’t think we gave them a lot of open looks. For the most part, our five players were effective defensively, but they get tired and take a possession or two off, and we need to understand you have to play hard every possession.”
The Lady Texans shot 28.8 percent from the floor as Sumbane finished nine of 16 from the field to go along with five rebounds and four steals. Daiysha Brown poured in 12 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and handed out seven assists over 35 minutes.
Matilda Soderlund chipped in seven points in 33 minutes of action, while Jennifer Silva netted six boards and pulled in five rebounds. South Plains tallied 22 points inside the paint and scored 14 points off 20 turnovers from Midland.
“One of the pillars of playing good basketball is not turning the ball over, and we protected the ball this game, and when you do that you give yourself a chance,” Baten said. “Celia is a good player, and she’s only scratching the surface of what she’s going to be. She’s going to continue to get better, and when she learns consistency, she’s going to be special.”
The South Plains College women’s basketball team extended its win streak to eight games Thursday, holding Howard to a season low in scoring as the Lady Texans smothered the Lady Hawks 67-39 at the Texan Dome.
South Plains improves to 14-7 on the season, including an 8-1 mark on their home court, and will be on the road Monday when they travel to Borger to take on Frank Phillips at 5:45 p.m.
“I thought our big kids did a very good job defensively containing a very good player,” South Plains College head coach Ara Baten said. “We had good moments offensively, and we need to get more consistent on that end. Howard has a good basketball team, and we played well overall tonight.”
Matilda Soderlund led SPC on the offensive end with 15 points, dropping in five of nine shots from distance over 28 minutes. Jennifer Silva netted 10 points and five boards, while Celia Sumbane finished with six points and 12 rebounds.
SPC controlled the interior through the duration of the game, outrebounding Howard 46-35 and tallied 24 points inside the paint. Howard committed 11 turnovers resulting 13 points for South Plains, as SPC received 24 points from its bench.
“Things start with our five players being able to match up with their best players, and I thought overall defensively we were pretty good,” Baten said. “Turnovers and rebounds, if you can win those two things, you’re going to be in good shape. We have a lot in front of us, and we have a tough road trip on Monday and we have to start preparing for that game.”