SMU Women Improve To 6-0

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GARLAND, Texas (SMU) – Keena Mays scored 22 points, including 10 straight late in the second half, to propel the SMU Mustangs to a 82-79 win over the Lamar Cardinals at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas, on Monday night. SMU is now 6-0 for the second time in school history, with the other being a 7-0 start in 1993-94.

The Mustangs scored the first seven points of the game, and then went on a 12-0 run to take a 22-7 lead with 13:31 left in the first half. SMU stretched the lead to as many as 19 over the first 20 minutes, taking a 36-17 lead with 8:36 on the clock, and led by 12 at halftime.

Wilkins had 13 points in 11 first-half minutes, and Keena Mays recorded five assists. SMU out-shot the Cardinals 44.7 percent to 33.3 percent, making 17 field goals to Lamar’s 11, and each team had four 3-pointers and eight made free throws.

The Cardinals (3-3) started the second half on a 14-3 run to cut the lead to one, 49-48 with 16:10 remaining. Lamar started 6-of-8, while taking advantage of misses on SMU’s first five shots. The Mustangs held the advantage until Lamar hit a three to take a 64-63 lead with 7:28 to play, its first lead of the game on the fourth 3-pointer of the half.

Mays then scored the next 10 points for the Mustangs, giving SMU a 73-68 lead with

4:36 to go on a step-back three-pointer. Mays would finish with 22 points after tallying just four in the first half.

Lamar had one last chance with eight seconds left to tie the game after Gia Ayers hit a three-pointer to cut SMU’s lead to 82-79. The Cardinals regained possession after Mays was called for a charge after the inbound pass, taking the ball with eight seconds left. Lamar called a timeout to set up the potential game-tying play, but could not execute against SMU’s strong defensive set.

Ayers led all scorers with 30 points on 10-of-21 shooting from the field. She also had 11 rebounds and eight assists.

Gabrielle Wilkins scored 17 points (13 in the first half) with six rebounds, while Akil Simpson tallied her third straight double-double with 11 points and 12 boards. Destynee Hives-McCray also scored in double-digits, recording 13 points on five-of-seven shooting.

SMU will now head to the Bahamas for the Junkanoo Jam Tournament. The Mustangs will play Kansas State at 3:15 p.m. CT on Thursday, and will play either No. 4 Tennessee or Virginia on Friday.

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