THE UST Growling Tigresses maintained their presence at the top as they dominated the UP Fighting Maroons, 93-65, in the UAAP Season 89 women’s basketball tournament on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Foreign student-athlete Oma Oniawa paced the match with a 20 point, 11 rebound double-double, while Bridgette Santos and Karylle Sierba carved 38 markers and 11 assists combined.
The Tigresses started off strong with a 10-0 scoring start all built on Oma Onianwa’s points on the paint.
Despite Camille Nolasco and Kennan Ka’s back-to-back layups for UP, UST ended the first period with a double-digit lead, 25-9.
With UST protecting their lead, Louna Ozar scored seven points of her own to keep UP afloat in the second blitz, 32-17
But the Tigresses displayed massive defensive effort by piling-up seven steals in a single quarter.
The España-based squad ultimately notched a 12-6 run, with Santos and Barby Dajao combining for 14 points, with Dajao’s ending the half with baseline trey, 54-21.
Despite a slow start in the third frame, Santos swished two made free throws and a three to break UST’s scoring slump, 59-31.
The Tigresses maintained its lead despite the Fighting Maroons’ 22-point scoring surge, ending the period with Gin Relliquette’s layup off a Kai Danganan pass, 72-43.
The Fighting Maroons no longer stood a chance to cut the deficit, as the Tigresses answered on every UP offense in the fourth.
Ozar and Ka marched a combined 51 markers in a loss for the Fighting Maroons.
The Tigresses aim to maintain their winning run against the DLSU Lady Archers on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at the same venue. F
