Halterman gets 600th win as CU ends skid

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DENTON, Texas (Jan. 17) -  Cameron spotted Texas Woman's University the first six points of the game, but came storming back to quickly take the lead and cruise to an 80-61 victory over the Pioneers in Lone Star Conference women's basketball crossover action on Saturday.

Sophomore Melisa Steen led a group of four Lady Aggie players in double-figures as Cameron (7-8) ended a four-game losing streak while giving head coach Dick Halterman his 600th overall coaching victory.

Cameron will look to make it two in a row on Tuesday, as both the Aggies and Lady Aggies open up LSC North Division play by hosting Southwestern Oklahoma State. Women's tipoff at Aggie Gym is set for 6 p.m., with the men's contest to follow at 8.

Steen, a 6-2 transfer from Oklahoma State University, posted 19 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Senior Kimberle Woods added 17 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Texas Woman's received a game-high 23 points from senior guard Julie Prescher, who connected on 7-of-12 three-point attempts in the game.

Cameron outrebounded the Pioneers 38-31 and benefitted from an 18-7 scoring advantage at the free throw line, where the Lady Aggies registered 19 more charity attempts.

TWU (1-13) got off to a strong start on Saturday, racing to a 6-0 lead. Cameron needed nearly three minutes to post its first points of the contest, but Christina Buben's free throws at the 17:19 mark of the opening period sparked an 11-0 run that gave the Lady Aggies the lead for good. After missing its first two shots of the game, Cameron finished the half 17-of-33 from the floor and went to intermission with a commanding 13-point lead.

Coach Devin Gabbard saw his TWU squad open the second half with another 6-0 run, cutting the lead to 39-32 with 18:31 to play. But just as before, Cameron answered. After trading buckets over the ensuing two minutes, the Lady Aggies put together a 21-8 spurt, extending their lead to a comfortable 20 points with just over seven minutes remaining.

Halterman's 600th career victory came in his 30th season as a head coach, for an average of 20 wins a season. He began his coaching career at Wheeling (Mo.) High School, where he guided the team to combined record of 105-11 in four seasons. From there, Halterman took over the women's program at Moberly Junior College in Missouri and compiled a record of 144-23 in five seasons with the Lady Greyhounds.

In 1983, Halterman began a 19-year stint as the head women's basketball coach at Oklahoma State University. He was named the Big Eight Conference Coach of the Year twice, guiding the Cowgirls to back-to-back conference tournament titles in 1990 and 1991. His record of 333-233 at Oklahoma State ranks as the most successful in Cowgirl basketball history.

Halterman is 18-23 in less than two full seasons at Cameron.