Germond's 11 points, school-record 17 assists lead #2 Lady Texans past Dodge City 106-50 Sunday

LEVELLAND – The second-ranked South Plains College women's basketball team closed out the front half of the season in prime fashion Sunday, dismantling Dodge City Community College 106-50 at the Texan Dome to improve to 14-0 on the year.

Sophomore guard Caroline Germond had a career outing, setting a new school assists record with 17 as the 5-foot-6 TCU signee also tallied 11 points and picked three steals over 29 minutes for South Plains. Future LSU Tiger Sarah Shematsi went off for a game-high 23 points, draining 9 of 13 shots from the floor and was 5-for-8 from distance over 29 minutes.

"One thing we always stress is we don't want to create for ourselves; we want to create pressure with our defense and let a teammate get a high percentage shot," South Plains head coach Cayla Petree said. " We were able to do that today and Caroline has been a facilitator all year and also has the ability to score. She does a great job of drawing defenders and kicking the ball out to her teammates who did a great job running the floor and creating looks offensively."

Ka'Lia Smith, a 6-foot-1 freshman from Amarillo dropped in 17 points and grabbed four rebounds, connecting on 7 of 9 shots from the floor and went 3-for-4 from the free throw line for South Plains. Sophomore center Ruth Koang netted 13 points and snatched 12 rebounds, nine on the defensive end, sinking 4 of 9 shots and was 5 of 5 from the charity stripe.

Ashala Moseberry and Johanna Teder each netted 11 points for South Plains who shot 57.5 percent from the field and went 23-for-26 from the free throw line. South Plains was ruthless on the defensive end, forcing Dodge City (8-5) to shoot just 32.7 percent from the floor and 5 of 18 from distance. The Lady Texans won the battle on the glass 39-25 and scored 37 points off 26 forced turnovers including 52 points inside the paint.

"This was a total team effort, and one of the biggest challenges in coaching is this game right before the break," Petree said. "We've played 14 games and have been together since August, and our girls are excited to go home, and a lot of times you can lose your energy and come out flat. To see us come out and with a lot of fight makes you feel a lot better going into the break."

South Plains will return to the hardwood for a four-game stint in Arizona at the Phoenix College Classic beginning on Dec. 28. The Lady Texans will then return to league play when they travel to Clarendon College on Jan. 6, followed by a home matchup with New Mexico Junior College on Jan. 13.