Dec. 2, 2009
Box Score 
Season Stats
DENTON, Texas (SMU) - Christine Elliott posted her first double-double of the season, scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, to lead the SMU women's basketball to an 80-58 win over North Texas.
Haley Day scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and Raquel Christian scored 10 points as the Mustangs improved to 6-1, while North Texas fell to 3-5. Brittany Gilliam finished with seven points, six assists and three steals.
The Mustangs jumped out to 14-7 lead over the first four minutes of the game, connecting on 3-of-4 3-point shots before the first media timeout. On the other end of the floor, the SMU defense held North Texas to just one point over the next four minutes, allowing the Mustangs to stretch the lead to 24-8 at the second media timeout with 11:44 left in the first half.
SMU was just 1-of-5 over the next four minutes, allowing North Texas to go on an 11-3 run to cut the Mustang lead to eight, 27-19 with 7:38 left in the first half. The Mean Green went 4-for-6 from the field during the span, after starting the game just 3-of-12.
North Texas took advantage of a cold spell by the Mustangs, cutting the SMU lead to four, 33-29 with under two minutes left in the half, before Christian hit a three, ending the more than three-minute drought for the Mustangs. Christian hit another three with less than ten seconds on the clock, but North Texas got a layup before the buzzer cutting the Mustang lead to six, 41-35 at halftime.
The Mustangs finished the half 14-of-31 from the field, 45.2-percent, after starting 10-of-17 over the first eight minutes. Elliott and Day each scored 10 points in the half, and Gilliam had four assists and three steals at the break. The Mean Green shot 42.4-percent, hitting 14-of-33, after starting just 3-of-12 from the floor.
SMU stretched the lead back to double-digits, 51-40, starting the second half with a 10-5 run capped off by a fast-break bucket by Gilliam after the outlet pass by Day. The Mustangs increased the defensive intensity out of the locker room, holding North Texas to just 2-of-9 shooting over the first four and a half minutes.
The Mustangs continued to knock down shots, hitting 7-of-16 over the next eight minutes to stretch the lead to 65-47 with 7:49 left in the game. SMU held North Texas to just 33.3-percent over the first 12 minutes of the second half, out-rebounding the Mean Green 13-10 over the span after getting out-rebounded 25-15 in the first half.
SMU finished the game 30-of-63 from the field, 47.6-percent, while North Texas hit just 36.9-percent of their shots, connecting on 24-of-65 shots. The Mustangs will return to action Wednesday, when they host TCU at 7 p.m.
