Women’s basketball - UNT 71, Louisiana-Monroe 67 in OT

by PegNews wire

The North Texas women’s basketball team held a break-out party for Brittney James on Saturday, as the freshman led the Mean Green to a 71-67 overtime win at Louisiana-Monroe.

James not only hit a runner to send the game into overtime, but sealed the deal with eight points in the extra frame. In her first start of the season, James finished with a game high 27 points to give the Mean Green (7-16, 4-9) its first overtime win since 2003.

“What more can you say about the effort of Brittney James today,” said head coach Tina Slinker. “She responded to every challenge today and I couldn’t be more proud.”

James kept Louisiana-Monroe (14-11, 4-10) off balance throughout the entire game. The freshman scored over half North Texas’ first-half points, and sent NT into the break with a 31-30 lead on the strength of her 17 first-half points.

The second turned into a slugfest as both teams spent much of the half trading three’s. The Mean Green had the game tied at 42 apiece until UL-Monroe’s Jesse Carrier caught fire. The freshman came off the bench and stroked a trio of 3-pointers to put the Warhawks up by six with eight minutes remaining.

Not to be outdone, Tricia Lee answered back with a pair of her own three-pointers to bring the score to 51-48. For the game, North Texas went 4-11 from beyond the arc, while the Warhawks hit 13-33.

The Warhawks raced out to an early lead on the strength of LaJeanna Howard. The junior scored UL-Monroe’s first eight points of the game, but was held scoreless for the remainder of the period.

Nedra Winston led the way for UL-Monroe with a 25-point, 13-rebound double-double performance.

Talicia Sanders and the Mean Green were unstoppable in the lane throughout the game. Sanders cleaned up on the glass with 11 rebounds and NT used a 34-24 advantage in points in the paint to seal the deal.

North Texas returns to action on Thursday at Denver. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. and can be heard on the Mean Green Radio Network.

Source: UNT