Sumbane, Soderlund combine for 22 points, Lady Texans oust Howard College 58-47 in conference opener

BIG SPRING — Celia Sumbane and Matilda Soderlund combined for 22 points Thursday as the South Plains College women's basketball team opened conference play with a road victory over Howard 58-47 at Dorothy Garrett Coliseum.

The Lady Texans improve to 7-7 on the season and 1-0 in the WJCAC and will be back on their home court on Monday, Jan. 16 when they play host to Frank Phillips College at 5:45 at the Texan Dome. Admission to the game is free and will stream live at spctexans.com.

South Plains shot a 35 percent clip from the field as Sumbane was four of 10 from the floor, netting 11 points and six boards over 34 minutes. Soderlund chipped in 11 points in 26 minutes of action while Vitoria Carvalho poured in eight points and grabbed seven rebounds coming off the bench. Jennifer Silva tallied six points and a team-high eight rebounds over 22 minutes for South Plains, while Martyna Czescik recorded four points and hauled in seven rebounds.

South Plains gave the Howard offensive fits over four quarters, forcing the Lady Hawks into 16 turnovers resulting in 18 points on the offensive end. Howard finished 19 of 59 from the floor, as South Paints netted 26 points inside the paint and 12 points on second-chance opportunities.