Freshman duo leads women's basketball past Sam Houston State

[PonyPride]

Delisha Wills, Jillian Samuels Each Score 18 Points for SMU
Nov. 17, 2006

DALLAS (SMU) - Freshmen Delisha Wills and Jillian Samuels each poured in 18 points to help lead the SMU women's basketball team to an 84-50 victory over visiting Sam Houston State Friday night at Moody Coliseum on the campus of SMU. With the win, SMU improves to 2-0 early on this season while the Bearkats drops their first of the season (2-1).

In the first half, the Mustangs could not find the bottom of the basket early on but caught on fire midway through the half. Despite some sloppy play by both squads, SMU posted a 10-point lead (21-11) at the 8:41 mark and slowly built it up to a 19-point lead at intermission. Samuels scored the last eight points of the half for SMU, including a three-pointer with five seconds left on the clock.

In the second half, SMU took advantage of nine second-half turnovers by SHSU and ran its transition game. SMU went on a 13-0 run beginning at the 12-minute mark and increased its lead to as many as 42 points with four minutes left in the contest. Despite such a huge deficit to overcome, the Bearkats didn't give up and continued to play its hardest until the final buzzer.

SMU's 63 rebounds set a mark in the Mustang women's basketball record books, being the third-most recorded in a single game. SMU held the Bearkats to 27.2% from the field (14.3% from three-point range). The last time SMU defeated a team by 30 or more points took place on Dec. 22, 2004, with an 80-36 win over San Diego State.

Wills posted her first collegiate double-double with 12 rebounds to go with her 18 points. Junior post Janielle Dodds added her first double-double of the season (and her 24th career double-double) with 13 points and 12 boards. Junior Katy Cobb scored 10 points. Top scorer for Sam Houston State was Brittany Brooks with 13 points. Alexis Green and Whitney Smith each added 10 points for the Bearkats.

[Peruna88]

And they looked good doing it. D-Wills is already a strong player - it's going to be an amazing four years watching her develop even more.