No. 9 Tbirds defeat Central Arizona

Hobbs, NEW MEXICO -

On a night where the accolades of the 2014-15 Women's Basketball team were honored, the '15-'16 Thunderbirds picked up the torch and ran with it as they downed No. 14 Central Arizona 69-55 in the 5th Annual Tate Branch Dodge Classic at Caster Activity Center.

Fueled by their defense, the Thunderbirds outscored the Vaqueras 20-4 in the 2nd quarter holding them to 1-18 shooting from the field (0-5 from three)as they turned a 20-16 disadvantage at the end of the first quarter into a 36-24 advantage as they headed to locker room for half-time.

Offensively, the Thunderbirds were led by freshman, Dezirae Hampton, who poured in 17 points in her collegiate debut. She shot 10-16 from the field (4-7 from three).  Hampton also led the Thunderbirds on the glass grabbing 7 rebounds while dishing out 5 assists.  Sophomore, Camille Mills, provided a spark off the bench as she added 14 points.

Next up for the Thunderbirds is Eastern Arizona who defeated Western Texas College 71-66 during the first game of the day.  They will take on the Monsters at 5:00 P.M.  on Saturday.

NOTE: The game times for Sunday, November 1, 2015 have been moved up two hours to accomodate travel.  The Sunday schedule is below:

11:00 am - Western Texas vs. Central Arizona

1:00 pm - Trinidad State vs. Western Oklahoma

3:00 pm - NMJC (W) vs. Texas Storm

5:00 om - NMJC (M) vs. New Mexico Military