The first half of Friday's home non-conference contest against Holmes on Day 2 of the Papa John's Classic was a competitive bout between the host Lady Bears and the Lady Bulldogs. But a surge in the third quarter gave Southwest the boost it needed as the Lady Bears rode that momentum to a 77-53 win.
After the game, Southwest head coach Brent Harris said that he and his team kept things simple as far as adjustments made in the locker room at halftime.
"I got out of their way," he said. "We stuck with one defense. I'm proud of that because it is man and that is what we need to get better at."
While the defense played a big role in the win for the Lady Bears (9-0) the offense shined on the other end of the floor. Southwest was led by Bethany Graves who had 23 points just four shy of her collegiate career high she set earlier in the week at LSU-Eunice.
Kara Beth Addison posted 16 points while Gracie Miller had 15 and Mookie Lampley 12. Graves said that part of her team's success is sharing the ball.
"I think that it is playing together," she said. "When we start being selfish and only think about ourselves, that is when it doesn't work for us."
Early on, Southwest battled back after being down 7-2, regaining the lead and taking a 19-17 advantage into the second quarter.
Graves helped lead the charge in the second period scoring the first five Southwest points putting the hosts in front 24-20.
Despite the success on the offensive end, for the Lady Bears, the Lady Bulldogs managed to keep it close through the remainder of the period even banking in a shot at the halftime buzzer reducing the Southwest lead to five at 36-31.
In the third quarter, however, the Lady Bears got into rhythm on both ends of the floor and created some distance between themselves and the Lady Bulldogs. An 18-0 run to start the quarter — which consisted of key shots from Graves, Moosie Walls, Addison, Lampley and Miller — made the score 54-31 in favor of Southwest. The Lady Bears finished up the third quarter, out-scoring the Lady Bulldogs 27-7.
Leading 63-38, Southwest used the momentum built from the third in the fourth quarter to maintain its lead and seal the win.
The Lady Bears are back in action on Thursday, hosting Delgado at 5:30 p.m.
