UNT Women Win With Final Shot
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MONROE, La. – North Texas’ Loryn Goodwin landed seven 3-pointers on Thursday night against the Warhawks, none bigger than her clutch offering from the right wing with 3.3 seconds remaining that won a key Sun Belt road game for the Mean Green, 76-75.
Goodwin led all scorers with a career-high 28 points on 7-of-12 shooting from 3-point, including a pair of threes in the final three minutes that made the North Texas (10-15, 9-7 Sun Belt) comeback possible.
“It was a great win for us here tonight, especially on the road,” said North Texas head coach Mike Petersen. “This one can give us a lot of momentum going forward as this league race heats up. Loryn was great tonight, and we really needed her to step up. That shot to win it was exactly what we needed.”
After starting the second half 1-of-4 from the floor, the Warhawks (7-17, 5-10 Sun Belt) connected on their next nine attempts to overcome an eight-point NT second half lead. ULM shot 62.5 percent from the floor in the second half and led by four points, 75-71, with 33 seconds remaining.
That’s when NT’s Sara Stanley hit a put-back layup with 10 seconds to play, and ULM missed its free throw attempt on the next trip down the floor. Off the miss, Laura McCoy found Goodwin on a 30-foot outlet pass down the right sideline, and the freshman nailed the shot.
Not only did the freshman hit the game winner for NT, but she also found the school record book in the process. Just minutes into the game, Goodwin splashed home NT’s 135th 3-pointer on the year, which broke the 2001-02 squad’s grip on the NT single-season record.
Goodwin’s seven 3-pointers moved her from sixth into third in school history for single-season 3-pointers. Goodwin, who has hit an NT record 14 threes in the last two games, is now only four 3-pointers behind Jill Medlock for the school record.
Alexis Hyder wasn’t far behind Goodwin’s point total with her sixth double-double of the season. Hyder tallied 23 points and 14 rebounds against ULM.
Braylah Blakely provided the Mean Green defense early, as the sophomore picked up a season-high two blocks inside the game’s first nine minutes. She would add another by the end of the half.
Eleven offensive rebounds led to 13 ULM second-chance points and an eight point lead with six minutes to play in the first half, but Goodwin single-handedly kept NT in the contest. She nailed four 3-pointers in the first half, including a shot from the top of the arch that pulled the Mean Green to within a point late in the frame.
The Warhawks hit a layup with seconds on the clock to go into the break with a 35-32 edge. Goodwin led all scorers with 17.
It only took the Mean Green 15 seconds into the second half to tie the game, and just moments more to take a stranglehold. Hyder landed a 3-point play on a drive to the bucket, followed by the go-ahead 3-pointer by Laura McCoy a minute later. Hyder then hit another 3-pointer on the next trip down the floor to put NT on top 41-35.
