The first half of the season for the Sul Ross State women's basketball team was filled with plenty of highs and lows.
Coming off a 62-48 win over LeTourneau last weekend, the Lobos are hoping to keep the momentum rolling through the second half.
Sul Ross State returns home for the first time in three weeks to take on Howard Payne University for a 1 p.m. CST tip off on Saturday, Jan. 13.
>> THE LOBOS:
Averaging 64.6 points a game while scoring 969 points up to this point, the Lobos rank fourth in the American Southwest Conference in scoring.
Sul Ross State also ranks fourth in the conference with 350 field goals made.
The Lobos are first in the ASC in steals (182), second in made free throws (228), third in rebounding (605) and second in assists (201).
Marley Rokas is the fourth-best scorer in the conference with 220 total points for an average of 14.7 a game.
Rokas also ranks third in the conference in made free throws (63), fifth in made field goals (77) and fourth in free throw percentage (81%).
Victoria Aguayo's 109 total rebounds are second-best in the ASC while she leads the conference in steals with 59.
Aguayo is ninth in scoring with 165 points scored while her 41 made free throws rank eighth.
Cheyanne Bonilla ranks second in the ASC in assists (53), second in steals (31) and second in minutes played (509).
>> SCOUTING HOWARD PAYNE:
The Yellow Jackets won their first four games of the season before hitting a three-game skid.
Howard Payne is 6-9 overall and currently riding a three-game losing streak after dropping two games on its east Texas road trip to Southwestern Assemblies of God University (74-39), LeTourneau (58-50) and East Texas Baptist (70-53).
Taysie Trejo leads the Yellow Jackets in nearly every offensive category as she averages 11.2 points a game with a team-high 31 made three-pointers, 50 made field goals and 26 made three throws.
Sul Ross State has won its last five games against Howard Payne, which included an 83-53 victory back on Feb. 18, 2023.
>> CONFERENCE OUTLOOK:
After qualifying for the ASC tournament last season, the Lobos are unfortunately unable to do so this season due to the reclassification to NCAA Division II.
Mary Hardin-Baylor sits atop the conference standings riding a 13-game winning streak and holding an unblemished 6-0 league mark.
Hardin-Simmons is tied for second with a 12-2 overall record while McMurry is 10-4 overall. Both teams are 5-1 in ASC play.
UMHB is ranked nationally in the d3hoops.com poll at No. 23 while the Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll has the Crusaders at No. 19.
Hardin-Simmons is No. 10 in the WBCA coaches' poll and No. 16 in the d3hoops.com top 25 poll.
The University of Texas at Dallas is the only other team sporting a winning record at 9-4 overall.
>> REMAINING HOME GAMES:
Much like the Sul Ross State men, the women only have five home games remaining.
The next chance to see the Lobos play after the Howard Payne matchup won't be until Thursday, Jan. 25 with a 5:30 p.m. CST tip-off with Hardin-Simmons followed up with a 1 p.m. CST matchup against McMurry on Saturday, Jan. 27.
BACK AT HOME
>> WHO: Howard Payne University (6-9, 2-6) vs. Sul Ross State (5-10)
>> WHEN: 1 p.m. CST (Saturday, Jan. 13)
>> WHERE: Pete P. Gallego Center (Alpine, Texas)
>> RADIO: KVLF 98.7 FM (bigbendradio.com)
>> HOW TO WATCH: https://boxcast.tv/view/lobo-womens-basketball-vs-howard-payne-university-zi8bb64vhjixiafl2ev8?_gl=1*d62t9o*_ga*MTM5NjM4NDI5My4xNjk5ODkwNDcz*_ga_PXBBF7HVWQ*MTcwNDIxMTQxNy45NC4xLjE3MDQyMTE1NDUuMC4wLjA
>> LIVE STATS: https://srlobos.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
