PINE BLUFF, Ark. – The Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers sizzled from behind the arc as they shot 70 percent to blow past Arkansas-Pine Bluff 78-45 in a conference win on Monday night at the H.O. Clemmons Arena.
Prairie View held the upper hand from the jump as they stepped to the line to kick off the contest due to UAPB earning a technical foul as freshman guard Siara Soliz knocked down 1-of-2 from the line for the early 1-0 edge. The Lady Panthers didn't wait long to get their motor running as they went 3-of 4 from the field at the 17:25 mark en route to a 10-4 advantage.
Prairie View was able to build its margin over the next few minutes as they used an 8-0 run which was led by the hot hand of senior guard Dominique Smith. Smith was flawless from three-point range by knocking down consecutive treys on back-to-back possessions for the game's first double digit lead at 25-11 with 7:44 remaining in the first half.
Minutes later, the Lady Panthers managed to double the output of UAPB as Smith hit a corner three to go up 28-14 with under five minutes to play in the period. In search of a spark, Arkansas-Pine Bluff's Jenise Gentry and forward Chigoziany Okwumabua rallied the troops and cut its deficit to nine points (28-19) as they found their way into the teeth of the Prairie View defense via slashing layups to the basket. However, Dominique Smith quickly put a halt to the UAPB run as she answered by knocking down 2-of-3 free throws from the charity stripe after getting fouled on a contested 3-pointer that pushed the Lady Panther lead back to 14 on several occasions to end the half ahead 36-24.
Prairie View continued to show signs of what's to come riding their first half momentum into the second stanza with freshman Siarra Soliz nailing a three-pointer to begin the period. The Lady Lions struggles carried on as they were unable to climb out their shooting slump accounting for a low field-goal percentage of 22 percent at the 13:29 mark.
From that point, the Lady Panthers didn't look back as they kept their foot on the gas pedal after building a 30-point lead with 28 ticks remaining. In their most decisive victory of the season, Prairie View would go on to seal their fifth win in conference play and a 9-9 overall mark.
Dominique Smith finished the contest scoring a game-high of 30 points while adding four rebounds and two assists. Siarra Soliz followed with 22 points, three rebounds and four steals while Robin Jones and Sharde Henry added 11 points apiece. Trinity Robinson also had a solid game distributing the ball as she tallied 10 assists.
The Lady Panthers return to the hardwood on Saturday, Jan. 29 as they host Alabama State beginning at 5:30 p.m. in Prairie View.
