CANYON, Texas — In their final preseason game before RMAC conference play begins, the Grizzlies take the win against Texas Permian Basin by a final score of 61-50. The win puts the Grizzlies at 5-3 overall and 1-1 on their two-game road trip to Texas.
Today's game was a story of two halves for the Grizzlies. The first half of today's game was an extremely competitive defensive game as the score after the first half was only 27-25 UT Permian Basin, with neither offense truly clicking in the first half. This changed in the second half as the Grizzlies' defense was able to stay strong while the offense was able to get rolling, giving the Grizzlies their final 11-point lead, and giving them the win in today's game.
A major part of the Grizzlies' success today was their defense. The Grizzlies' defense truly dominated. During today's strong defensive showing, the Grizzlies collected 16 steals and forced 21 UT Permian Basin turnovers. The Grizzly defense was led by Senior Elaina Watson, who collected 6 steals during the game to lead the way for the Grizzlies. Junior Kya Blakley followed suit with a strong defensive showing, collecting 3 steals in the game and finishing second on the Grizzlies behind only Watson. Behind the strong defensive play of Watson and Blakley, the Grizzlies were able to hold the UT Permian Basin offense to 15 points or less in every single quarter today, which helped propel them to a win.
Offensively, for the Grizzlies, they really clicked in the second half, scoring 36 of their 61 points in the third and fourth quarters. Things really clicked for the Grizzlies in the third quarter when they scored 22 points to take a 7-point lead into the fourth quarter. In the third quarter, the Grizzlies shot an outstanding 75% from the floor while making all three of their 3-point attempts. The Grizzlies' outstanding shooting played a major factor in their ability to take control of the game today.
Leading the way on the offensive side of the ball today were Ashiian Hunter, Kiiyani Anitielu, and Taejhuan Hill, who all scored double-digits in today's game. Hunter finished with 14, leading the way for the Grizzlies, while Anitielu finished second on the team with 12, and Hill finished third with 10 points. Between the three women, they accounted for 36 of the Grizzlies' 61 points, all 5 of the made 3's by the Grizzlies, and 13 of the 21 field goals they made overall in today's game. With the leadership of these three women and the strong defensive performances by Watson and Blakley, the Grizzlies finished their road trip in Texas with a great performance as they gear up for RMAC conference play to start next week.
Up next for the Grizzlies will be their first road conference game against Colorado School of Mines. The game will be played in Golden, Colorado, at the home of Mines and will be played on Thursday, December 4th, at 5:30 PM MST. The Grizzlies will look to start their conference season off strong with a win against a 2-5 Mines Women's Basketball team. Tune into the game as it will be streamed on the RMAC Network.
