Wednesday, December 6
Denton, TX
11:00 AM CT
University of North Texas
8-1,0-0AAC
73
vs
66
Arkansas Pine Bluff
3-7,0-0SWAC
1
2
3
4
F
Ark.-Pine Bluff
17
14
21
14
66
North Texas
17
9
22
25
73
Kernal Posts Career High in Thrilling Win Over UAPB
12/6/2023 2:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball
She led all scorers with 28 points and recorded her fourth double double of the season in the win
DENTON, Texas – The UNT women's basketball team improved to 8-1 on the season behind a career game from DesiRay Kernal to defeat Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 73-66, on Denton ISD Kids Day in The Super Pit.
Kernal dropped 28 points on 7-of-12 shooting and 12-of-18 from the free throw line to surpass her previous career high of 27 points she had twice last season at Texas A&M-Commerce. She also collected 12 rebounds, which led all players, and marked her fourth double-double of the season.
Nine of her points came in an exciting first quarter, while Tommisha Lampkin added six of her own to pace North Texas. The Golden Lions pressure on defense rattled UNT early in the game as they forced 14 first-half turnovers.
UAPB went on a 6-0 run to start the second quarter to take the lead and held North Texas to 10% shooting in the quarter. Holding UNT to nine points, which is the lowest scoring quarter of the season so far for the Mean Green, UAPB was able to take a 31-26 lead into the locker room at halftime.
However, the Mean Green turned it around in the second half as they have all season and began to chip away at the deficit. Despite Lampkin picking up her third foul minutes into the third quarter, Kernal continued to bring the Mean Green back. The lead got as small as two for the Golden Lions, but three consecutive 3-pointers for Kalia Walker kept the Mean Green at a distance for the time being.
Trailing 52-48 heading into the fourth quarter, Kernal had already tied a season high with 21 points and earned the double double. UNT went on a 6-0 run of its own capped by a Dyani Robinson layup to take its first lead since the opening quarter of the game with 5:36 to go in the fourth.
With Lampkin having fouled out of the game less than a minute into the fourth quarter, UNT showed its depth on the bench with multiple players stepping up on the offensive and defensive end down the stretch. Kernal, Robinson, Jaylen Mallard, Desiree Wooten and Shamaryah Duncan all scored in the final minutes to hold off any potential run from Zay Green and Pine Bluff.
A former McDonalds All-American and Texas A&M transfer, Green led UAPB with 18 points but did so on 9-of-20 shooting.
Along with converting 25-of-38 free throws over the course of the game, North Texas would hold UAPB to 26.3% from the field in the fourth quarter and outscore them by nine to seal its sixth-straight win.
The 8-1 start to the season marks the best start to a season in over 20 years at UNT. North Texas will return to action at home on Saturday against Alcorn State at 2 p.m CT with a chance to solidify the best start to a season in program history through 10 games.
Quoting Head Coach Jason Burton
On the environment for Denton ISD Kids Day:
"First off it was an incredible environment with having all those kids from Denton ISD here and we're very appreciative of the support from them. That was an energized gym and we needed that for four quarters to be able to push us through. I really felt like that was a big part of our run and you could feel the momentum shifting with the kids getting excited during our run in the fourth quarter."
TICKETS
Tickets for the next home game against Alcorn State on Dec. 9 as well as season tickets are on sale now. Fans should purchase their tickets at www.meangreentickets.com.
FOLLOW US
Please make sure to follow North Texas women's basketball on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@MeanGreenWBB) for news and updates all season
Kernal dropped 28 points on 7-of-12 shooting and 12-of-18 from the free throw line to surpass her previous career high of 27 points she had twice last season at Texas A&M-Commerce. She also collected 12 rebounds, which led all players, and marked her fourth double-double of the season.
Nine of her points came in an exciting first quarter, while Tommisha Lampkin added six of her own to pace North Texas. The Golden Lions pressure on defense rattled UNT early in the game as they forced 14 first-half turnovers.
UAPB went on a 6-0 run to start the second quarter to take the lead and held North Texas to 10% shooting in the quarter. Holding UNT to nine points, which is the lowest scoring quarter of the season so far for the Mean Green, UAPB was able to take a 31-26 lead into the locker room at halftime.
However, the Mean Green turned it around in the second half as they have all season and began to chip away at the deficit. Despite Lampkin picking up her third foul minutes into the third quarter, Kernal continued to bring the Mean Green back. The lead got as small as two for the Golden Lions, but three consecutive 3-pointers for Kalia Walker kept the Mean Green at a distance for the time being.
Trailing 52-48 heading into the fourth quarter, Kernal had already tied a season high with 21 points and earned the double double. UNT went on a 6-0 run of its own capped by a Dyani Robinson layup to take its first lead since the opening quarter of the game with 5:36 to go in the fourth.
With Lampkin having fouled out of the game less than a minute into the fourth quarter, UNT showed its depth on the bench with multiple players stepping up on the offensive and defensive end down the stretch. Kernal, Robinson, Jaylen Mallard, Desiree Wooten and Shamaryah Duncan all scored in the final minutes to hold off any potential run from Zay Green and Pine Bluff.
A former McDonalds All-American and Texas A&M transfer, Green led UAPB with 18 points but did so on 9-of-20 shooting.
Along with converting 25-of-38 free throws over the course of the game, North Texas would hold UAPB to 26.3% from the field in the fourth quarter and outscore them by nine to seal its sixth-straight win.
The 8-1 start to the season marks the best start to a season in over 20 years at UNT. North Texas will return to action at home on Saturday against Alcorn State at 2 p.m CT with a chance to solidify the best start to a season in program history through 10 games.
Quoting Head Coach Jason Burton
On the environment for Denton ISD Kids Day:
"First off it was an incredible environment with having all those kids from Denton ISD here and we're very appreciative of the support from them. That was an energized gym and we needed that for four quarters to be able to push us through. I really felt like that was a big part of our run and you could feel the momentum shifting with the kids getting excited during our run in the fourth quarter."
TICKETS
Tickets for the next home game against Alcorn State on Dec. 9 as well as season tickets are on sale now. Fans should purchase their tickets at www.meangreentickets.com.
FOLLOW US
Please make sure to follow North Texas women's basketball on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@MeanGreenWBB) for news and updates all season
Team Stats
UAPB
UNT
FG%
.406
.379
3FG%
.235
.286
FT%
.476
.658
RB
39
46
TO
20
20
STL
12
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
28
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
12
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's BasketballForward
/ Women's BasketballForward
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's BasketballGuard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
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