Cameron women stun No. 25 Falcons

ODESSA, Texas—Cameron women have been on the verge of coming up with a big surprise and Jeff Mahoney’s club did just that Saturday by stunning No. 25-ranked UT-Permian Basin, 57-55, in Lone Star Conference action at the Falcons’ home court.

The Aggies used a short jumper from Kailyn Lay with 21 seconds remaining to build a 57-52 lead with 21 seconds remaining and it was at that point that the breaks started to go CU’s way.

“The shot clock was going down on us and we had to put up a bad shot and their girl rebounded and started to dribble and then called time,” CU women’s coach Jeff Mahoney said. “Because she dribbled first, they weren’t allowed to advance the ball to halfcourt. They took it out on the baseline and we had fouls to give so we picked up full court and made them work to advance the ball.

“They got the ball to their big girl, the OU transfer, and Courtnee (Cash) did a great job on defense and forced her to put up a bad, off-balance shot and we pulled out the win.”

Mahoney said it seemed like things worked out at the end.

“I thought we had three or four big momentum calls that went against us but the girls just didn’t buckle,” he said. “It was just a good team effort; everyone contributed. We got out in front with a good run, they came back with a run and then it was just a great game the rest of the way.”

Mahoney said it was a huge win for many reasons.

“That bunch was ranked No. 25 and leading the West (Lone Star Conference) and was 20-2 but now our girls are telling me ‘they are 20-3 now,’” Mahoney said. “This is the biggest win I’ve been involved with since coming to Cameron. That’s a hard place to play; we’ve never played well there. But today our bunch was ready to play.”

The win is also important as it pertains to the LSC Tournament.

“Right now, there are four teams fighting for one position,” Mahoney said. “MSU beat Angelo State, so now it’s Midwestern, (Texas A&M) Kingsville, Fort Smith and us fighting for that final spot. Us and Fort Smith are tied for eight and Kingsville and MSU are one game back. We have three games remaining and they are all important. We need to have the gym rocking for those three games.”

Katie King and Korie Allensworth each scored 14 for the Aggies and Shamika Smith added 11 and Kaylain Lay just missed double figures with nine.

Cameron hit 5-of-16 from long range while they defense limited the Falcons to 4-of-27 shooting from long range for a paltry 14.3 percent.

“They have two really good inside girls but they also shoot the ball well, so they aren’t all-guard oriented but we did a good job on defense, guarding tough on the edge and making their post girls beat us. They made 18 threes against Midwestern, so they have shooters, but our girls just played a super game. And hung around and found a way to win.”

Cameron men fall

While the women got a big road win, the Cameron men were unable to get the win on the road, falling 79-69, to the Falcons in another big Lone Star Conference contest.

The Aggies owned a two-shot lead at halftime, 39-37, but in the second half they were unable to make shots, hitting just 34.4 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes.

Cameron did several things well but when the shots didn’t fall they were unable to get many second chance points and the Falcons held on for the win.

Lavell Brodnex led Cameron with 16 points, Jaden Okon added 15 and Jaxon Ingram 11

The biggest area that hurt the Aggies was 3-point shooting where they hit just 4-of-22 for 18.2 percent.

The loss knocked the Aggies to 11-7 in the conference which is tied with Eastern New Mexico at that mark. West Texas (14-0) and Lubbock Christian (14-4) lead the way and Angelo State is next at 12-7 after beating the Aggies Thursday and then beating Midwestern Saturday in three overtimes.