MADISON, Wis. – Off-target shooting plagued the Prairie View A&M women's basketball team during a 68-42 road loss to the University of Wisconsin on Friday in the Kohl Center.
A jumper from freshman Kennedy Paul opened up scoring for the Panthers, who then fell into a 12-2 hole before a 7-0 run led by senior Bernesha Peters cut the deficit to 12-9. Aside from a single free-throw, Prairie View kept Wisconsin scoreless during the final two minutes of the period, but weren't able to make up much ground, going into the second quarter down 13-9.
Paul buried a three-pointer to bring Prairie View within a bucket at 15-12. However, the Panthers went quiet from the floor through the majority of the second period. Freshman Kennedi Heard converted a layup to snap the cold streak during the final minute before the break but by then, the Panthers were facing a 21-point deficit and ultimately went into halftime down 37-14.
"Our shooting woes continued," PVAMU head coach Sandy Pugh said. "We just aren't hitting the shots. We're getting open looks and opportunities, but we've got to have a consistent second and third scorer. Peters was in double digits, but we're not going to beat anybody with just one kid in double figures. We need to have two or three kids in double figures. We haven't been able to solve that so far."
Senior Dominique Newman layed one home to start off a favorable third quarter for the Panthers and after a small 3-0 Badger run, Peters knocked down a three pointer that cut the Wisconsin lead to 41-19. Prairie View A&M closed the period with a plus-5 scoring advantage, as junior Amy Soumare powered the tail end of a 12-7 run that brought the Panthers within 18 as the fourth quarter began.
Following a three from Panthers freshman Diana Rosenthal that brought the score to 53-35 with 7:54 left, Wisconsin posted 10 unanswered points to stretch its lead to 63-35. Despite late baskets from the Panthers, the deficit created earlier on was too much to rebound from.
Peters led the team with 12 points. Paul posted with seven points, four rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block. Newman also contributed with six points, four rebounds, four steals and one assist.
As Prairie View A&M looks to their next matchup, Pugh said the team needs to focus on keeping fouls to a minimum and closing out the game.
"We have to do a better job of keeping them off the foul line," she said. "We didn't shoot any free-throws. I don't think I've ever coached a game where we didn't shoot one free throw. Little things like that are what we have to do better. But all in all, our execution has gotten better. We're moving the ball and we're doing some good stuff there, but we've got to finish."
Next up:
The Panthers will return to their home court to face Huston-Tillotson University on Monday, Dec. 30. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m in the Baby Dome.
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