The Prairie View Lady Panthers, making strides in their season over the past couple of games took a step back with a disheartening 53-50 loss to the UT-Pan American Lady Broncs.The Baby Dome played host to this exciting non-conference game for the Lady Panthers that featured a 20-point scoring outburst from freshman guard Ciara Sanders.
In the first half, the score teetered back and forth in favor of each team until Sanders scored five straight points to put the score at 29-19 in PV’s favor.
At the conclusion of the first half, with Prairie View in the lead at 31-25, the Lady Panthers shot 37.5% from the field on 9 of 24 shooting. UT-PA countered with 36.8% shooting on 7 of 19 shooting.
At the outset of the second half, freshman forward Jasmine Henderson scored on a lay-up at the 19:04 mark to put Prairie View ahead, 33-25.
A three-pointer by Lady Broncs forward Ashley Roberts brought UT-PA within five, but Sanders responded with a three of her own. At the 10:42 mark and nursing a ten-point lead, the Lady Panthers saw the game start to slip away from their grasp.
UT-PA went on a 13-1 scoring run over the next seven minutes and took a 46-45 lead with a little over four minutes remaining in the ball game.
With ten seconds remaining and the Lady Panthers trailing 51-50, Lady Broncs forward Tynesha Pierce hit two free throws to go up 53-50. A desperation three pointer by PV guard Karlanda Butler fell short and the game ended in a loss for the Lady Panthers.
The Lady Panthers will be in a rematch next Saturday, when they meet Mississippi Valley State, in the BabyDome. Game time is 5:30 p.m.