North Texas Daily

Coming off a 73-66 loss on Wednesday to Southern Methodist, the North Texas Mean Green (3-4) rebounded with an 83-76 overtime win against Missouri State (1-4) on Saturday afternoon.

There were 15 lead changes and the two teams were tied nine times throughout the course of the game, so junior post Anisha George said being able to pull out a close win was huge for her team.

“It is always good to win at home,” George said. “We learned from our mistakes in the SMU game and moved on to today’s win. We definitely grew.”

Senior shooting guard Terriell Bradley led all scorers with 36 points. Bradley has averaged 35.3 points per game in the past three contests.

Head coach Jalie Mitchell holds the record for most career points scored at North Texas, but she said Bradley is “coming for it.”

“I think what she’s been doing has been pretty incredible,” Mitchell said. “I don’t think she’s forcing anything and just letting it all come to her. She’s just taking advantage of opportunities and playing her game.”

When both teams were tied up 68-68, Missouri State’s Jasmine Franklin knocked down a contested shot in the paint to give the Bears a 70-68 lead with 1:15 left in the game.

After a North Texas timeout by Mitchell on the next possession, the Mean Green drew up a perfect play that resulted in a wide-open block shot for Anisha George, who put it in the basket to tie the game up 70-70.

Missouri State had one final chance to win the game on a contested layup from Brice Calip, but the shot hit off the rim and the two teams would determine the winner in extra time.

George finished right where she left off in regulation, scoring the opening two points in overtime and hitting two free throws to extend the lead to 77-71 with under a minute to go. George recorded a double-double on the afternoon with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Sophomore guard Callie Owens shoots the ball against Missouri State. The Mean Green soared in overtime play (83-76). Rachel Walters

“I think she can get a double-double every night,” Mitchell said. “I hope that she understands how big of a part she is to our success. It is huge for us to have a post presence, and she’s been that for us consistently.”

For the second game in a row, the Mean Green were efficient from the field in the opening quarter. North Texas finished 8-of-16 from the floor and 4-of-8 from the three-point line during the first quarter. Senior shooting guard Terriell Bradley hit a 3-pointer from the left wing with 2:30 remaining in the period, which sparked a 10-2 run that gave North Texas a 20-14 lead at the end of the first period.

Redshirt sophomore guard Callie Owens hit a step-back three-pointer towards the end of the second period to give North Texas a 32-27 lead heading into the break. Bradley led all scorers at the half with 13 points and Missouri State was led by Danielle Gitzen, the Bears leading scorer who came into Saturday’s matchup averaging 10.5 points per game.

In the opening minutes of the final period, Missouri State went on an 8-0 run thanks to Gitzen and guard Alexa Willard. During the next two minutes, North Texas responded with an 8-0 run of their own that consisted of two 3-pointers from Bradley and Callie Owens to put North Texas up 63-59.

Bradley, Owens, George and Grace Goodhart all finished in double figures on the night for the Mean Green, and Coach Mitchell said she is starting to see a little more consistency in the North Texas offense.

“We’ve been talking about not making the home run play,” Mitchell said. “It’s not going to be the first pass that we shoot or the first penetration. We just need to move the ball until we get the shot that we want. Most of the time today, I thought we did that.”

Another vital component in the Mean Green’s win was their defense. North Texas forced 21 turnovers and scored 22 points off of Missouri State turnovers.

“[Defense] is one end that you can always be good at,” Mitchell said. “No matter what is happening offensively, we should always be able to get stops. We have a lot of pride in our defense and we want to get 21 turnovers at the minimum.”

UP NEXT: The Mean Green will be back in action at The Super Pit on Wednesday to take on Houston Baptist at 11:30 a.m.

Featured Image: Sophomore point guard Trena Mims dribbles around Missouri State The Mean Green won in overtime (83-76). Rachel Walters